Past Mistakes
by DahliaRose83
Summary: Alaric has come to Mystic Falls to kill the Vampire who murdered his wife. But then actually meeting said Vampire stirrs up unexpected feelings. And to make matters even worse, Damon suddenly claims that their history dates a lot further back than Isobel s supposed death. (Damon/Alaric)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, it`s me again. The ideas just keep flowing lately, so I started my next Dalaric-Story already. I got the idea while watching reruns of season 3. To be exact, it was the Episode where Stefan realizes that he and Klaus were friends and that he`d been compelled to forget. I thought it would be interesting to do something like that with Damon and Ric.**

**The Story starts during season one. I don`t know how Long it will be. We`ll see...**

**##############**

Alaric looked at himself in the mirror with a sigh. A 50`s decade dance – whoever came up with this stupid idea? And as a teacher, especially the new teacher, he had no choice but to attend and play chaperone. Just great. He hoped it might at least take his mind off of recent events. Somehow he still couldn`t believe that he`d actually done it. Killed a vampire. And it hadn`t even been that hard. Actually it had been kind of exciting, which scared him a little. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it would give him the strength to go on and do what he had to do. He glanced at his watch and - sighing yet again – left his apartment.

The gym was decorated nicely, he had to admit. The students had invested a lot of work into this. Looking at all the teenagers mingling around, dressed up in perfect 50`s clothes actually made him smile. The smile faded quickly however when he spied a familiar figure across the room. The vampire who had killed his wife. The reason he was here in Mystic Falls. After two years of research Alaric hadn`t thought it would be that easy in the end. He had come to Mystic Falls because Isobel`s research had pointed to this town. He hadn`t really thought he`d actually find any vampires here, let alone the vampire he was looking for.

And yet here he was, standing at the edge of the dance floor, discreetly surveying the crowd. Alaric tensed a little as the vampire`s gaze swept over him. Back at the bar, where he`d seen him the first time, he had thought for a second he saw something like recognition in the vampire`s eyes. Ric remembered that night vividly, when he`d come home to find a vampire in his bedroom, draining his wife. He knew he`d made some sound, because the vampire had sped off, taking Isobel with him. But Ric wasn`t sure if the monster had seen him. If he would recognize him as well.

The teacher was startled out of his musings when Jenna walked up to him. He wasn`t really sure how he felt about her, yet. She was nice and easy-going, beautiful and charming, but somehow he doubted he was ready to start dating again. Still he smiled at her. "Hey, look at you." Jenna smiled back. "I figured I'd stand out less if I dressed up." The comment made Ric laugh and he accused her of lying. "Okay, I'm a sucker for the decade dance. I went to school here, you know. They do the sixties and seventies, too." she let him know with a smile. She was clearly flirting and Alaric felt a little bad for stringing her on.

But maybe he wasn`t. Maybe he just needed to get this over with, to finally find out exactly what had happened to Isobel and then he could go on with his life. "Oh. Can't wait." he retorted a little sarcastically. Wasn`t one decade dance bad enough? Jenna laughed and he couldn`t help but grin as well. They moved to get some punch and talked animatedly, until Jenna mentioned that she was starting to see some change in Jeremy. "Uh, losing someone you love so suddenly, the, uh … the trauma and the grief there are some of the tougher things he'll face in life." Ric commented, thinking of Isobel.

Jenna stopped to look at him. "From someone who knows. You have no idea what happened?" she asked sympathetically. "That's the hard part, not knowing." Alaric told her honestly. "I'd be lying to you if I told you it didn't keep me up at night. Wondering why, by who." Well, he knew by who, but he wanted to know the whole story. He wanted to know why. Had Isobel been just a random victim? Or had her research gotten her killed in the end, because she got too close to the truth?

"Maybe one day." Jenna`s comment shook him out of his thoughts. The teacher nodded, his eyes drifting again to the man standing across the room, his arms folded over his chest, watching the couples on the dance floor. "Hope so." he murmured, sipping at his punch again and wondering if it was such a good idea to talk to Jenna about these things. He shouldn`t get her involved in all of this. Ric felt actually relieved when one of his teaching colleagues came up to talk to her and gave him the chance to take his leave.

Hesitating only a second he made his way over to the vampire. Time to face the enemy. This was neutral territory after all and maybe he could find out something useful. "I don't recognize you. How'd you get roped into chaperoning? Alaric Saltzman. I'm the new history teacher." He pasted a friendly smile on his face and shook the vampire`s hand. "Damon. Salvatore." The guy was looking at him with a spooky intensity that made Ric nervous. "Salvatore, as in, uh, Stefan?" he asked, stuttering a little. Damn, he shouldn`t give the vampire an advantage, but that blue eyed gaze was rather distracting. Especially up close.

"He's my little brother. I'm his legal guardian, hence the chaperoning." Damon told him. Alaric made some comment about Stefan, stating that he hadn`t met him in class so far and wondering absently if Stefan was a vampire as well. He must be, right? If his brother was one. "Well, his attendance record's a little spotty. Family drama." Damon murmured conspiratorially. He seemed way too friendly and easy-going for a heartless monster. Probably practiced this, to lure innocent victims into trusting him, the teacher suspected. "No parents?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light.

"It's just the two of us now." Damon answered willingly. Alaric wasn`t sure if it was a good idea to keep interrogating him, but the chance was too good to pass up. The vampire had to behave himself in a crowd this big. Still Ric`s questioning seemed to start grating on his nerves after a while, because the vampire looked at him with raised eyebrows and Ric quickly backpedalled. "I'm sorry. I'm nosy. I …I don't mean to pry. Look, it was nice meeting you." he quickly excused himself, patted the vampire on the arm and left.

Even with his back to Damon he could practically feel those blue eyes on himself. Cursing himself for his own stupidity he walked away at a fast pace, trying to disappear into the crowd. He could only hope he hadn`t raised the vampire`s suspicion now.

A few minutes later he ran into Jenna again, who promptly started chatting him up once more. Alaric still felt a little shaken up over his encounter with the vampire and therefore didn`t really pay attention. Of course Jenna noticed that he was distracted and asked worriedly if he was okay. He gave her a reassuring smile and nodded. "Yeah, I`m fine. Just a little tired, that`s all. It´s been a long day. I think I`ll go get some fresh air." he left Jenna standing there and exited the gym, breathing a sigh of relief when he was out of the crowd.

Alaric walked towards the restrooms, just wanting to be alone for a second, to compose his thoughts. The school hallways were dimly lit and completely empty. The noise from the party faded away and his steps sounded unnaturally loud. Ric stopped short when he heard a noise. It seemed to come from the cafeteria. Curious he went to investigate. His hand slid into his jacket pocket and he pulled out the vervain, hoping it would really work like Isobel`s research had said.

He stopped abruptly when Damon appeared in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere. Damn, the vampire was fast. The teacher cleared his throat nervously. He could feel his heart rate speed up, but tried to act nonchalant. "Hey." The vampire stepped closer, was now standing directly in front of him. He was staring at Ric even more intensely than earlier at the party. His blue eyes seemed to darken. "What were you doing?" he asked. His voice sounded hypnotic and Ric realized that he was trying to mess with his mind. But it wasn`t working. So obviously his resources had been right about the vervain.

"Looking for Ms. Hilden." he answered calmly. "Why are you in Mystic Falls?" the vampire continued his interrogation. Ric told him he was here, because he got hired as a teacher. "Do you know what I am?" It was getting increasingly difficult to hold that stare, to keep breathing evenly, but somehow the teacher managed not to flinch. His hand closed even tighter around the vervain. "You're my student's brother." his voice sounded strangely calm even to his own ears. Damon took another step closer and for a second Ric`s breath caught in his throat. "Is everything you're telling me the truth?"

Alaric nodded. "Yes." The vampire continued to stare at him. "Then forget we had this conversation." he ordered, before finally taking a step back. His eyes raked over Alaric one last time, then he simply walked away. The teacher just stood still for a moment. His hand was shaking when he put the vervain back into his pocket. Up this close the vampire`s presence had been nearly overwhelming. Had to have been the compulsion he was trying to use.

Shaking himself out of his trance, Ric finally returned to the gym. He went purposefully looking for Jenna this time, hoping that talking to her would take his mind off the strange encounter in the hallway. Luckily it did. He found himself talking about Isobel again, simply couldn`t help it, but Jenna didn`t really seem to mind. In the end he even walked her home. At her front door he apologized for talking about his wife so much, but she just shrugged it off and assured him it was okay. Only after he had bade her goodnight and was on his way home, did he realize that it would have been the perfect opportunity to ask her out. Well, he obviously still wasn`t ready for a date.


	2. Chapter 2

**I`m not really happy with chapter. Damon doesn`t even make an appearance and nothing all that important happens. At first I thought about deleting it. But I decided to follow the storyline (at least for now and with some changes), so these things need to happen. They might even be important later. So I decided to leave it that way. Hope you like it anyways and I promise the next chapter will be better. And it will have lots of Damon Scenes.**

**#########**

Two days later Alaric was back at school. He was sitting at his desk, reading the journal Jeremy had given him. At least, he was trying to read. Somehow he just couldn`t concentrate today. His mind kept flashing back to his encounter with Damon in the hallway. His reaction to the vampire`s close presence still puzzled him. At first he chalked it up to the mind control the vampire had tried to use, but deep down he knew that it was more than that.

Damon had stirred up thoughts he hadn`t had since his early college days. Back then the teacher had admired the male form just as much as the female, if not more. But things had changed when he met Isobel. He had convinced himself that he was completely straight and up until now he hadn`t questioned that. Now however… Well, the vampire was gorgeous, Alaric grudgingly admitted. But of course that didn´t change the fact that he had killed his wife. And it certainly wouldn`t stop Ric from getting revenge.

Giving up with a frustrated sigh the teacher went to make copies from the journal, which he quickly put into his locker. Jeremy would want this back soon, he supposed and it couldn`t hurt to have access to the information whenever he needed. He had just put the journal back onto his desk and sat down to start grading papers, when he heard a noise outside. Looking up he thought he saw someone move past his open door. "Hello?" he called out. No answer. Strange. The school should be deserted at this time of day.

Frowning he got up and went to investigate, but saw no-one out in the hallway. Still he felt a shiver race down his back. Two days ago the hallways had appeared empty as well and seconds later he had come face to face with a vampire. "Someone there?" he tried again, but still got no answer. Deciding not to take any chances he went into the teacher´s lounge again to get his bag. Quickly he took a blow dart gun out of the duffel bag and inserted a wooden stake into it. He had modified the gun himself. Just one of the many weapons he had brought with him to Mystic Falls. Some he had even designed himself.

He cocked the gun and crept back towards his classroom. Peering around the corner for a second he saw someone inside. No-one could have entered the room while he wasn`t there. At least no-one that was moving at human speed. Which meant the person in there couldn`t be human.

Entering quickly the teacher shot a stake at the intruder, who caught the stake effortlessly. Alaric reloaded the gun and pointed it at the vampire again, only now recognizing Stefan. So he was right about Damon´s brother being a vampire as well. "You shouldn't have done that." Stefan said quietly, suddenly rushing at the teacher. Before Ric had a chance to react the gun was knocked from his hands and Stefan pushed him into the desk. "Have a seat." the vampire ordered

Alaric hesitated, but in the end sat down, watching the vampire warily, who was now inspecting the gun. "What is this, compressed air? Did you make it yourself? Who are you?" the teacher didn`t answer. He tried to come up with a plan, but failed. Should have known hunting vampires wouldn`t always be that easy. Killing Logan Fell had made him feel too cocky about himself. He flinched when Stefan stepped closer. "I'm not going to hurt you...unless you try that again." the younger Salvatore assured and handed back the gun. Alaric took it, still watching the vampire suspiciously, trying to find out what kind of game he was playing.

Stefan sat down and asked again who he was. "I'm a teacher." Ric answered honestly. Stefan sighed in annoyance. "Are we gonna have to do this the hard way?" His voice sounded pretty even, but Ric recognized a threat when he heard one. Giving in, as there really was nothing else he could do, the teacher relented. "My wife was a parapsychologist. She spent her life researching paranormal activity in this area. It was her work that led me here."

Stefan asked where his wife was and Ric`s face darkened. "Dead. A vampire killed her." he spat, surprised when Stefan flinched. The younger Salvatore recovered quickly however and asked about the Gilbert journal. It was only then that Ric realized the journal was no longer where he`d put it. "It was on my desk. Someone must`ve taken it."

Stefan looked troubled at that, but continued his interrogation nonetheless. "How long have you been aware of me?" Alaric snorted at the question. I haven`t really been aware of you until I tried to shoot you, he thought grimly. What he said however was: "I learned just recently. What about your brother?" Stefan didn`t even blink. "You met Damon." It was a statement, not a question. He must have known that Damon had tried to compel the teacher. "Who do you think killed my wife?"

This however surprised Stefan. "Are you certain it was Damon?" he asked. Alaric nodded grimly. "I witnessed it." And a part of him wished he hadn`t. Knowing nothing at all would be better than knowing just a bit. Just enough to keep him searching. "If you're here for revenge, this is going to end very badly for you." Stefan warned. Ric suspected that this might very well be the case, but he couldn`t stop now. He just had to know the truth. "I just want to find out what happened to my wife. I saw him draining the life out of her. He must have heard me coming. He just...disappeared. So did her body. They never found her."

Stefan stared at him for a second. "Damon can never know why you're here. He'll kill you without blinking." Yes, Alaric didn`t doubt that. But he could take care of himself and that`s what he told Stefan as well. Only the younger Salvatore didn`t seem to believe him. "No, you can't." he scoffed. His next words surprised the teacher. "I can help you. If you let me." Ric looked at him suspiciously. "Why would you help me?" That didn`t make sense. It had to be some sort of trick. Vampires were rumoured to be sneaky creatures.

"I`m not like my brother. I don`t want people to get hurt. I just… I just want to live a normal life. As much as possible for someone like me." Stefan replied. He seemed honest, but Ric wasn`t convinced. "Please, let me help you." the vampire said. Reluctantly Ric nodded. He could use some help. Maybe Stefan was honest, maybe he wasn`t. He would probably find out soon enough. For now he decided to believe him. But he would stay alert. "I still don`t trust you." he let the vampire know. Stefan actually smiled at that. "I didn`t expect you to. I don`t trust you either." Fair enough, Ric supposed. "That means you`ll find out what happened to my wife?" he asked.

"I`ll ask Damon about her. I can`t promise you anything, but I`ll try, okay? And you stay away from Damon." It was an order, not a request. Ric decided to follow that order for now. But if Stefan didn`t come up with news soon, he would go after Damon himself. Only the younger Salvatore didn`t need to know that. "I`ll stay away from him." he promised. "Anything else?"

"We need that journal." Stefan murmured. Ric thought of the copies, safely locked away. "Why do you need it?" he asked. Stefan fidgeted a little. Finally he heaved a sigh and started explaining. He told Alaric about the vampires, locked away in the tomb underneath the old church, about Damon`s plan to free them and the fact that they needed the journal to find out how to break the spell that sealed the entrance shut. "If Damon succeeds it will end in a massacre. Those vampires will be out for revenge. I need the journal to stop him and protect this town. So if you know where it is, please give it to me."

After a moment`s hesitation Alaric got up. "I don`t know where it is, but I made copies. Come on." He went to his locker and retrieved the copies, handed them over to Stefan reluctantly. "Thank you. You`ll get them back." the vampire promised. Strangely enough, Ric believed him.

#####

The next few days were rather uneventful for the teacher. He didn`t see Stefan or Damon and tried to concentrate on teaching instead of vampires. Stefan had given him his cell phone number, just in case and he had to resist the urge to call and ask if there was anything new about Isobel yet. Thankfully work kept him pretty busy, although most students in Mystic Falls didn`t have a rather spectacular attendance record. It seemed like there was always at least one student missing from class and more often than not Ric didn`t even know why. This week Bonnie had been excused from school, because of the recent death of her grandmother. Elena had failed to attend twice without an explanation and he hadn`t seen Stefan at all. Which was nothing new, really.

Therefore the teacher was quite surprised when the vampire actually showed up to class at the end of the week. He lingered after the other students had filed out of the class room and Ric turned his questioning gaze on him. "Here, I promised you`d get them back." Stefan murmured, handing over the copies of the journal. "Thanks. So… did you find out what exactly happened to Isobel, yet?" Stefan shook his head. "I didn`t have time to ask my brother. Things have been … difficult."

Alaric frowned, wondering what the hell that was supposed to mean. "You promised to find out." he reminded the vampire, wondering if it had been a good idea to leave it up to him. He should have gone after Damon himself. The younger Salvatore sighed. "I know and I will. I just need more time. There has been a lot going on lately and my brother is… not exactly stable right now." His voice sounded strained, tired and Ric suddenly remembered the rest of their talk.

"I take it his plan to free those vampires didn`t work out then?" he asked, getting worried when Stefan looked away, his shoulders hunched. "No, it didn`t. Or rather it did, but not like he`d planned. It was … a disaster." he mumbled. His words didn`t make sense. "And that means…?" the teacher prodded. "It means you should probably keep those stakes handy." Stefan muttered darkly, turning on his heel and storming off without further explanation.

Alaric looked after him in shock. Just great. From what he`d gathered that meant 27 murderous vampires were now running rampant around town. But maybe he had misunderstood Stefan. At least he hoped he had. With a sigh Ric put the copies into his bag and quickly left the room, deciding to be extra careful from now on.

The teacher stifled a groan when he ran into Carol Lockwood on his way out. That woman had lately become the bane of his existence. Not only had she talked him into chaperoning the next school dance, she had also somehow gotten him to agree to participate in the bachelor raffle tomorrow. Really, where did these people get those ideas? And why had he agreed to do this? He supposed he had said yes in the end just to shut her up. And now here she was again, enlisting his help in decorating for the Founder`s Fundraiser. Ric had every intention of saying no, telling her just how much work he still had to do.

Strangely enough by early afternoon the next day he found himself helping Jenna putting up banners for the Fundraiser. At least he had someone to complain to, even if Jenna only laughed and told him that you simply didn`t say no to the Mayor`s wife. "Come on, this is weird, me being raffled off like a Disney Cruise." he grumbled. "In this town, fundraising is like indentured servitude. You don't have a choice. Besides, you're a bachelor and you're eligible, so there you go." Jenna reasoned. Ric sighed and put the last banner up. What the hell had he gotten himself into?

Startled he noticed that Jenna was watching him with a weird look. "Oh, god. I can't believe I'm gonna do this." she suddenly mumbled. Ric looked at her questioningly. "Do what?" he asked, hoping she wasn`t going to ask him out on a date now. Somehow they were still dancing around each other and he still wasn`t sure if he wanted to date her or not. Luckily Jenna didn`t ask him out, but she shocked him nonetheless. "I … I have to tell you. Elena recently found out she was adopted and she's been looking for her birth mother...whose name was Isobel. "

"Isobel? Like my wife?" he questioned. "Isobel never had a baby." Jenna bit her lip and asked if he was sure. Ric frowned. He would have known if his wife had a daughter. "Nope. No way." he clarified. What a weird idea. Just because Elena`s mother`s name was Isobel… Jenna took out her phone and handed it to him. "This is Elena's birth mother." The teacher stared at the screen in shock. She looked younger, but it was definitely his wife. "Ah, she …she never told me. I, … I'm gonna go. Yeah, I'm just gonna … go." he stammered, giving the phone back and walking away quickly.

His mind was reeling. Isobel had a daughter. Elena. And she had never felt the need to tell him. He just couldn`t believe it. It made him wonder what else she had kept from him. Arriving at his apartment he slumped down on the couch. After a while he got up again and started rummaging in a drawer, until he finally found what he was looking for. He carried the little box over to the couch and took out a picture of Isobel. One of the very few ones he`d kept. After the funeral he had given most of them to Isobel`s parents. He didn`t really know why.

Looking at the picture now made him remember. Especially the last few month before her death. They had drifted apart. Isobel had always been obsessed with her work and at first he had accepted that, had even found it kinda cute. But it had gotten worse. She had spent nights working at her computer, slept through the day. In the end he had barely seen her at all. Sometimes she had just disappeared for days and he hadn`t known where she was. Or who she was with.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts he sent a quick text to Stefan and asked the vampire to meet him. He wanted answers. And he wanted them now.


	3. Chapter 3

Stefan met him at the town square. "Jenna told you." he suspected. Alaric simply nodded. "So it's true. Your wife Isobel was Elena's birth mother?" Another nod. "What does Elena know?" Alaric finally asked. Stefan sighed. "About your wife?" he asked the question like he already knew the answer. "About everything. About you, your brother." Ric clarified. The vampire hesitated a little, but then he told him that she knew about the vampires and the fact that Ric knew about them too."

"Does she know about Damon and Isobel?" the teacher continued his interrogation. "No. I couldn't tell her. Not until I was sure." Ric understood. It would be enough of a shock for poor Elena. She was a sweet girl and he wished he could spare her the details. But she had a right to know the whole truth. Just like him. "You said you'd help me." he reminded Stefan once again. "I asked Damon without saying too much. He doesn't remember." the vampire claimed. Which wasn`t good enough for Ric, so he demanded that Stefan asked his brother again.

"Damon is not stable right now." he sounded pained, but the teacher didn`t really care. "You said that before. But you know what, I don`t care. He murdered my wife, or at the very least made a meal out of her. When has he been stable?" he asked, getting angry. The vampire was only stalling. Maybe he already knew more than he let on. With a heavy sigh Stefan asked him not to push it, promising he would handle it. That it would be too dangerous for Ric.

"Is that what you'll tell Elena? Let it go, because it`s dangerous?" Obviously he had hit a nerve, cause the next thing he knew the vampire was in his face, hissing at him to leave Elena out of this. Ric took a step back. Stefan`s presence wasn`t nearly as overwhelming as Damon`s, but nonetheless threatening. "I need to know what happened. I think you would, too."

The vampire took a deep breath and calmed. "I need something more than just your wife's name. A picture, something I could show Damon." he said after a while. Ric pulled the picture of Isobel out of his jacket and handed it over. Stefan looked at it, nodded and left. Alaric felt that he really needed a drink after this drama and decided he could just grade papers at the Grill.

A few minutes later he was sitting at the bar, drinking a glass of bourbon. He didn`t look up when he heard someone enter, but he flinched when that someone ordered a bourbon and sat down next to him. "Behold the teacher. Grading papers at a bar?" Damon mocked. Ric looked at him and instantly wished he hadn`t. Up this close those blue eyes were way too hypnotic. "It's, uh.. more fun with a buzz." he stammered. The vampire actually smiled a little wistful at that. "Well, most things in life are. Sober' s depressing." he mumbled, sipping at his drink.

Alaric watched him, curious. "You don't strike me as somebody who gets depressed." he observed, instantly regretting it when the vampire´s gaze got even more intense. "You say that like you know me." There was a strange undertone to his voice. Ric`s heart rate sped up, but he managed to shrug. "Just a hunch." Damon kept staring at him and the teacher couldn`t look away. The sounds of the bar, of the people around them, faded into the background as they stared at each other for what seemed like hours.

Finally Alaric managed to tear his gaze away. He prayed he wasn`t blushing as he quickly finished his drink and got up. Muttering a greeting in the vampire`s general direction, without looking at him he made his way towards the exit. It took all of his willpower to walk out of the bar at a normal pace, instead of running away as fast as his legs would carry him. He could feel the vampire`s gaze on himself the whole time.

The teacher went home, where he took some time to compose himself. But all too soon he had to get ready for the Fundraiser. Once again cursing himself for agreeing to partake in the stupid raffle and cursing Carol Lockwood for asking him in the first place, he finally dressed up and headed to the Mystic Grill. The party was already in full swing when he arrived and he worried a little about the many women mingling in the room, laughing, talking and sneaking not-so-discreet glances at the men. Alaric sighed and decided he needed another drink if he wanted to make it through the evening.

A short while later Jenna found him and he apologized for running off earlier. "No, I'm sorry for dropping it on you, but I felt like you should know." she murmured. He just nodded. Part of him felt glad that she`d told him the truth, but another part already regretted ever coming to Mystic Falls. He`d come here to find answers and all he got so far was more questions.

"At some point, maybe you and Elena could talk. I'm sure she'd like to hear about Isobel, what she was like." Jenna suggested. Ric cleared his throat, feeling more than a little uncomfortable about the topic. He wasn´t sure if Elena would like what he could tell her. He had loved Isobel, of course he had, but their relationship had been a difficult one. Especially towards the end.

Isobel had changed, back then. Had become distant and strange. Or rather, even more strange. She`d always been obsessed with her work, but during those last few month she had become almost manic. He wondered if he had ever really known her. "I don't know if that's a … a great idea. At least not … not for a while." he finally murmured. Jenna nodded understandingly. "Of course. No pressure. It`s up to you." she assured.

The teacher was almost thankful when their talk was interrupted by a girl, who told him he had to go on stage soon. He moved to the back, nodding to the other four guys already gathered there. His gaze lingered on Damon for a second. Then the vampire grinned at him and he quickly averted his eyes.

Finally Carol Lockwood called them onto the stage. She introduced each bachelor and asked a few questions. Alaric barely paid attention. He hated being put in the spotlight like that. The many stares that were directed at him made him feel uncomfortable. Unbidden the image of a slave auction came to his mind and he had to suppress a snort at the thought of him and the other guys being sold off to the highest bidder. And to make things even worse, Damon was standing right next to him, fuelling Ric`s nervousness with his mere presence.

He was startled out of his musings when Carol suddenly stopped in front of him. "Alaric Saltzman. Wow. That's quite a mouthful. What do you do, Alaric?" she asked cheerily. Ric barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He told her he was working as a history teacher, while he absently wondered if she was either drunk or on drugs. This cheerfulness simply couldn`t be real. Especially for someone who was married to Richard Lockwood. The Mayor was a real dick. You probably had to be constantly drunk to handle him.

"History. Oh well, give us a fun fact about Mystic Falls, something crazy." Carol asked, looking at him in anticipation. Without really intending to, Alaric looked over at Damon. The vampire smirked at him, his blue eyes twinkled with mischief and Ric felt at a loss for words. He opened his mouth, but nothing intelligent came out. Carol shrugged. "He's probably saving the best stories for his date." she mused. With a false grin she moved on to Damon and started questioning him. The teacher suddenly found himself paying attention, when Damon remarked that he liked to travel.

"L.A., New York. Couple of years ago I was in North Carolina. Near the Duke campus, actually. I think … I think Alaric went to school there. Didn't you, Ric? And your wife did too, right?" the vampire looked at him with a questioning, completely innocent look and Ric felt his temper rise. He balled his hands to fists and fought the urge to wipe that damn smile off Damon´s face. So the bastard knew exactly who Alaric was. Had probably known all along.

Carol continued talking, completely oblivious to what was really going on between the two men. Ric didn`t pay attention. He was staring straight ahead now, not wanting to see the triumph on Damon´s face. The vampire would pay, he vowed silently to himself. He registered absent mindedly that Jenna would be his date and couldn`t help but feel glad about it. At least he already knew her, so hopefully it wouldn`t be too awkward.

The teacher breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally allowed to leave the stage. He went to find Jenna, who held up her ticket with a smile. "So, I guess this means you owe me a date." He forced himself to smile back. "Looks like it." Jenna looked at him closely and her smile faltered. "You don`t have to go through with it, you know? I understand." she mumbled and Ric blinked at her, not really sure what she was hinting at. Before he could say something she tugged at his arm and motioned for him to follow her.

She led him to a quiet corner, away from prying eyes. "I like you Ric and I won`t deny that I find you attractive. But I know when I don´t stand a chance." Jenna let him know, puzzling him even more. "Jenna, I don`t…" he started, but she didn`t let him finish that sentence. "It´s okay. Didn`t take a genius to figure out your interest lies elsewhere." she said with a wry smile, gesturing to her left. Alaric followed her line of sight and spotted Damon. It took a second until it clicked, but then he shook his head vigorously. "No. No, that`s not what you think." he assured.

"It`s okay, really. I don`t mind. I can understand you. He`s ridiculously hot. And I won´t tell anyone. Don´t worry. Your secret is safe with me." Her grin was back and once more Alaric felt at a loss for words. She couldn`t really think he was interested in Damon. Well he was, but not like she thought. His eyes flickered back to the vampire, who was engrossed in a discussion with Elena. The girl seemed angry and Ric wondered if Stefan had told her the truth about Isobel`s death.

"I`m not sure if he swings that way, but from what I`ve seen of him so far I wouldn`t be surprised. And with the way he looks at you… You should take the chance. But I have to warn you – he`s a flirt. So if you`re after something serious he`s probably not your best choice." Jenna advised. Alaric looked at her, surprised that she didn`t seem all that upset. She was even smiling again. "You can talk to me, you know? I`d like for us to stay friends." she told him.

For a second he could only stare at her, amazed at her words. He realized that while she was beautiful and sweet and he really enjoyed spending time with her, he simply didn`t feel drawn to her. Not in that way. Finally Alaric`s lips curved into a smile and he nodded. "I`d like that, too." he said sincerely. "And I am taking you out on that date. Dinner and a movie?" Jenna actually laughed at that. "Sounds like a plan." she agreed. Ric couldn`t help but feel glad that things were finally cleared between them, even if Jenna thought he was interested in Damon. He would have enough time to prove that her assumption was wrong. And with a little luck Damon wouldn´t be problem to anybody much longer.


	4. Chapter 4

It was about two hours later when Alaric quietly entered the boarding house with a stake in hand, a little surprised that the door had been unlocked. He found Damon in what appeared to be the living room. The vampire was busy preparing himself a drink and had his back to the teacher. Ric was about to take another step forward, when Damon suddenly spoke up. "I guess this isn`t a social call?" He turned around and stared at the teacher, raising an eyebrow in question. "You gonna put down the stake?" Alaric remained in an attacking stance, watching the vampire warily.

"Wow, that's courage." Damon mocked, walking towards Alaric. The teacher gripped the stake tighter, not willing to back down. "Where's Isobel? What have you done to my wife?" he demanded. He saw something flicker in Damon´s eyes. Some emotion he couldn`t name. "That`s the reason you`re here? Your wife? You want me to tell you I killed her? Would that make you happy? Because I think you know what happened." the vampire claimed.

"I saw you feeding on her." Alaric let him know. Damon didn`t seem surprised. But maybe he was good at hiding it. His face seemed like an expressionless mask, devoid of any emotion. "Yeah, I did, and you know what? She was delicious." Something in Alaric snapped and he rushed at the vampire. But of course Damon had expected his attack and blocked it easily. Within seconds Alaric found himself on the floor. "Oh, come on. What do you think happened? Not an inkling? Never considered the possibility?" Damon asked, looking down at him.

Ric frowned. He had no idea what the vampire was hinting at. Obviously Damon noticed this, because he elaborated: "I turned her." Those news shocked the teacher. For a moment he was unable to reply. He had never considered that Isobel may still be alive. Or well, as alive as a vampire could be. The thought that she had left him stung. "Why?" he asked. Damon laughed humourlessly. "She came to me. All pathetic, begging me to turn her. Said she`d do anything."

The words hurt, which was probably just what the vampire wanted. Still, Alaric just couldn`t let it go. He wanted answers. Needed answers. Had asked himself too many questions for too long. "You turned her because she begged you?" he asked. Damon shrugged. "Yeah. But you knew that, too, didn't you? She wasn't happy at home, wasn't happy with life in general, wasn't happy with you. She didn`t care about you, Ric. Not one bit. She left you without a second thought." the vampire went on. He seemed to be taking cruel delight in Alaric`s pain.

Ric got up and launched another attack, but once again the vampire proved to be stronger. He knocked the stake out of the teacher`s hand and punched him in the stomach, sending him sprawling onto the floor again. "Stop fighting me. We're kindred spirits, Ric, abandoned by the women we loved. Unrequited love sucks. But you know what, you`ll get over it. Isobel was a heartless bitch. Just forget about her." Damon advised. The teacher glanced over at the stake that was lying a few feet away, wondering if he would be able to reach it before Damon stopped him.

He had no chance to find out. Suddenly he heard the splintering of glass and seconds later Damon was tackled to the floor by some guy. Another vampire, Ric noticed with a glance. While the two vampires were busy fighting he quickly scrambled forward and picked up the stake. Looking back he noticed that a female had joined the fight now as well. Damon managed to buck the guy off and he stumbled into Alaric, who tried to seize the opportunity and put the stake to use. Unfortunately the vampire was stronger. He blocked his attempt, grabbed the stake and stabbed the teacher, who yelled in pain.

The vampire pulled the stake out again and Alaric crumbled to the ground. Gasping for air he placed his hands over the wound, trying to stop the blood flow, but it was no use. His body felt like it was on fire and each breath hurt like hell. He wasn`t getting enough air. The stake had punctured a lung. Already his vision was swimming, the sounds of fighting becoming distant. Ric tried to fight the drowsiness, but his eyelids were getting heavy and he couldn`t breathe. And then everything went black.

###

Damon broke the leg off a wooden chair and used it to stake the girl. Seeing this the other vampire fled through the broken window. Damon looked after him with a frown. It didn`t take a genius to figure out that the two vampires had been in the tomb. He recognized the girl, Beth or something like that. He wasn`t sure why they had attacked him, but frankly he didn`t really care. Turning around again he spied Alaric on the floor and took a step towards him, but stopped when he noticed the bloodstain on the teacher´s shirt. He didn`t need to go any closer to know that Ric was dead. He could hear no heartbeat.

For a long moment he just stood there, staring down at the dead teacher. The guy must have killed him while Damon had been busy fighting off the girl. He hadn`t even noticed that Ric had still been here. A smart man would have run as soon as Damon was distracted. But not Ric. He should have known. The guy had always had a serious hero complex. Finally Damon turned away, feeling strangely numb. After debating with himself for a second, he grabbed the dead vampire and put her into the trunk of his car. He would hand her over to the sheriff later, let Liz deal with getting rid of the body. It would give her one more reason to be thankful to him.

Then he went back inside, grabbed his glass and sat down on the couch. Once again his eyes were drawn towards Alaric`s still form. He just couldn`t look away. What a waste. The dark haired vampire didn`t even stir when he heard Stefan enter. The younger Salvatore rushed over and knelt down next to Alaric, checking for a pulse. What a ridiculous thing to be doing as a vampire. "What happened? What did you do?" Stefan asked dismayed. Damon didn`t answer. Simply continued to sit there. "Damon, how could you? Tell me what happened, damn it!" Stefan demanded again.

The older one shrugged. "All I did was tell him the truth. His wife didn't want him anymore. It's not my fault he couldn't handle it." he murmured, not bothering to tell his brother that it hadn`t been him who killed Alaric. Stefan probably wouldn`t believe him anyways. "Like you've been handling Katherine?" the younger vampire mocked. Damon glared at him. "I'm handling it fine." He drained his glass and pointed to Alaric. "I'm assuming you'll take care of this."

Without waiting for a reply he strolled out of the room, feigning nonchalance. Acting, hiding his true feelings – that was an art he had perfected over the years. His brother didn`t need to know how Ric`s death was affecting him.

He had thought about telling him the truth. Maybe even taking the compulsion off. Hadn`t been sure yet, if it would be a good idea to allow Ric to remember. All this time he had wondered if something might have gone wrong two years ago and if the teacher remembered him. And then Ric showed up here tonight. But not because of him. No, because of Isobel of all people.

The dark haired vampire walked upstairs slowly, but stopped dead in his tracks when he suddenly heard a gasp, followed by Alaric`s voice. "What happened? What's going on?"

For a second Damon actually thought he was hallucinating. It simply couldn´t be real. Obviously Stefan was just as shocked as him, for Damon heard him stammering downstairs. "You were just... Did Damon turn you?" The words almost made Damon rush back downstairs. He remembered Logan Fell. What if Anna or one of her lackeys had slipped Ric vampire blood as well? It would mean he was in transition and once he turned … he would remember.

"No. I … I went for him and then the, uh… the other guy.. he stabbed me." he heard Ric mumble. "No, no, no. You must have vampire blood in your system. Somebody slipped it to you." Stefan protested, seemingly not even realizing exactly what the teacher had said. Damon was still standing on top of the stairs, listening.

"No. It's, uh.. it's something else." Ric muttered. Damon frowned, wondering what he was getting at. There was no other way he could be alive. "I, uh... Isobel. She gave me this ring. It protected me." the teacher said after a while. "That's impossible." Stefan protested and Damon had to agree with him. But Ric insisted on his explanation, stating he felt fine, no craving for blood, no strange hunger, nothing. It was simply too crazy to be true. Then again Damon had been around a long time. He´d seen many strange things and had learned not to question them. If it really had been the ring, it must be magical. Spelled by some witch, he supposed.

Downstairs Stefan finally realized what Ric had said, about some other guy killing him and questioned him about it. Damon rolled his eyes. Really perceptive, Stef, he thought sarcastically. "I don`t know. Some vampire. He came through the window and attacked Damon. There were two of them actually, a man and a woman." the teacher replied, before insisting that he didn`t remember anymore, since he`d obviously been dead then. "I`ll just.. go home now." he muttered.

Damon remained where he was, stared down at the retreating figure with a mixture of relief and intrigue. Alaric stopped in front of the door and turned to look up at him, almost as if he`d felt the vampire`s eyes on himself. Their eyes met for a second and Damon`s breath caught in his throat. Then Ric opened the door and left.

Seconds later Stefan appeared. He stopped in surprise when he spied Damon standing on the staircase. "Did you hear…?" The older one nodded. "You should probably ask the little witch to check out that ring." he suggested. Stefan gave him a questioning look. "You think the ring is spelled?" Damon rolled his eyes. "I think rings don`t usually revive dead people. What other explanation could there be?" His brother looked thoughtful for a minute. Then he nodded. "You could be right about that. But I can`t ask Bonnie. She just lost her grandmother. Because of us. She must hate us, Damon."

The dark haired vampire sighed in annoyance. "She`ll get over it." He turned and was about to head to his room when Stefan`s voice stopped him. "Damon, wait." He looked back at his brother, eyebrows raised in question. "Why didn`t you tell me about the other vampires? You let me believe you had killed Alaric." The older one shrugged. "I probably would have, if those tomb vamps hadn`t interrupted our little discussion. So what does it matter?" His emotionless mask was back in place, giving nothing away.

Stefan frowned. "You think they were in the tomb?" he asked, ignoring the other comment. "Correction – I know they were in the tomb. I recognized the girl. She`s dead by the way. And unlike our friend Alaric she won`t be getting up again anytime soon." Damon informed his brother, finally continuing towards his bedroom. He debated calling sheriff Forbes, but decided to postpone it until tomorrow and just go to bed. The day had been strange and tiring enough.


	5. Chapter 5

Early next morning Damon drove to the sheriff's office and presented the dead vampire to sheriff Forbes. She waived a few deputies over who took the body away. "Do you have any idea if there are more of them out there?" she asked worriedly. Damon shrugged. "I don`t know. But I think we should be careful. It`s possible." Liz nodded grimly. "I`m just glad we have you. You`re good at this. I don´t know what we`d do without you." she told him sincerely. Damon shrugged it off. "Actually … I wasn`t alone this time." He had no idea what possessed him to say that. But it was too late to take it back now. Liz was already looking at him questioningly. "You had help?"

Okay, might as well go through with it. "Alaric Saltzman. The new history teacher. Turns out he knows quite a lot about the history of Mystic Falls." Damon went on, absently wondering if it was such a good idea to point the sheriff towards Ric. The teacher might take the chance to out Damon as a vampire. But somehow he refused to believe that.

Still couldn`t hurt to be careful. "Don`t question him about it, though. I think he`s still a little shaken up over the whole encounter. He`ll need some time. But I think he could be a valuable ally." Liz nodded slowly. "Alright. If you think he can be trusted… I`ll leave it up to you to deal with him. We`ll take all the help we can get." Damon promised to keep her up to date and then took his leave, wondering what the hell he`d been thinking by bringing Ric into this.

When he entered the boarding house again, he found Pearl and Anna waiting for him. "Ever hear of knocking?" he asked annoyed. Why were they still here? "An invitation wasn't necessary. I'm surprised that no living person resides here. Is it just you and your brother? How do you keep out unwelcome vampires?" Pearl asked. Damon gave her a tight smile and muttered that he just killed them. He ran towards Pearl and tried to strangle her, but she was too strong and overpowered him easily. "Have a seat, Damon. I was hoping we could have a word." Gritting his teeth he complied.

Pearl let him know that they had taken up residence at a farmhouse just outside the town. "All 25 vampires?" he asked, shocked at the prospect that really all of them could have escaped from the tomb. Bonnie must`ve screwed up her little hocus pocus This wasn`t what he`d planned, but lately his brilliant plans seemed to fail more often than not. Pearl shrugged it off. "Not all, some. I imagine that a few have already left town. Others are probably still in the woods."

Just great. Those stupid witches had really unleashed all 25 vampires. And it had all been for nothing. Could it get any worse?

Obviously it could, because Pearl demanded that he helped them plot revenge on the council and take over Mystic Falls. Thanks to Anna snooping around she knew that Damon had infiltrated the council and was supplying the town with vervain. "I'll need to know everything they know. Starting with a listing names of all the council members and their families as well as everyone you've supplied with vervain. Of course that will have to stop immediately." she ordered. Damon looked at her like she`d gone mad and told her exactly where she could stick her plans.

Pearl just smiled at him like he was some stupid schoolboy. In her eyes he probably was. "As a reward for your help I'm willing to give you what you want most." she offered. "I want nothing." he spat, watching in mild alarm as Pearl´s smile grew wider. "Katherine." A few month ago the mentioning of her name alone would have spurred him into action. But now it didn`t. He`d spoken to Anna after they had opened the tomb, after he had learned that Katherine had never been inside. She had told him that Katherine had known where he was the whole time. She hadn`t wanted to see him. The love of his life had only been toying with him, had actually always favoured Stefan.

As much as he wanted to believe that Anna had only said those things to hurt him, deep down he`d known she told the truth. Maybe he`d always known. He had spent 145 years chasing after a woman who never loved him. It hurt like hell, but once he´d gotten over the initial hurt, it had also been strangely liberating. He was free now. His obsession with Katherine finally broken. He could move on. And he would.

"I no longer have any desire to see Katherine ever again. She can rot in hell for all I care. And there's no way in hell I'm gonna play the role of your little minion." he spat. And he meant every word. Unfortunately Pearl didn`t take no for an answer. "I'm not asking for your help, Damon. Finding Katherine was just a mere gesture of kindness. The rest is non-negotiable. You will do as I say." She pushed him to the floor and loomed over him like a goddess of death. "I have four hundred years on you, little boy. I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking and you know it." she threatened. And he didn`t doubt for a second that she could.

With a grim smile she hauled him up again and pushed him down onto the couch, promising to stay in touch. He watched the two women leave the house, stifling a groan at the unfairness of it all.

####

From there on things only got worse. Stefan had left the house this morning to go hunting. Now it was early afternoon and he had yet to return. When Damon couldn`t reach him on his cell phone he started to get worried. Calling Elena proved completely useless, since the stupid girl just didn`t answer her phone. In the end he drove to her house.

Elena opened the door and started snarking at him immediately and he wondered if the bitchiness was a special trait that ran in the family. Katherine had certainly always been a heartless bitch and Isobel was just as bad. "Is Stefan here?" he asked, ignoring the dark look Elena was giving him. That effectively shut her up. "No. Why? Something wrong?" she asked, getting worried immediately. "He went out in the woods and didn't come back. I can't get him on his phone. I figured he was here with you." Damon told her honestly.

Elena frowned and tried to call Stefan herself. "It's going straight to voice-mail. Where could he be?" Damon sighed. "You're not going to like what I'm thinking."

He left the house without waiting for her reply and rushed to the old farmhouse Pearl had mentioned. It had been raining all day and the storm was only getting worse. Despite the early hour it was dark outside, heavy clouds hiding the sun. This day was really getting worse and worse. Arriving at the house he banged on the door, waited impatiently, his pissy mood growing by the second. Finally the door opened to reveal the guy from last night. Frederick, he suddenly remembered.

"Pearl's not home. Hmm. Beautiful weather. Not a ray of sun in the sky." Frederick muttered with a grin. It was a threat. Damon was all too aware of that. But it didn`t make him back down. "Where's my brother?" he demanded. Frederick smiled and motioned to someone Damon couldn`t see. Seconds later two vampires dragged Stefan into the hallway. The younger Salvatore was bleeding from several wounds and groaning in pain. Damon tried to rush to his brother`s aid, but couldn´t get past the threshold.

"I'm sorry. You haven't been invited in." Frederick mocked, before ordering the owner of the house, some poor middle aged lady, never to let Damon in. The older Salvatore had to watch helplessly as one of the other vampires stabbed Stefan with a stake. "145 years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother. First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad. Well... I thought your brother might want to get a taste of that before I killed him." Frederick told him with a cruel grin. Then he simply shut the door in Damon´s face.

The dark haired vampire banged against the door again, yelled and spat curses, but it was no use. Calming down he realized that he needed a plan, if he wanted to free Stefan without getting both of them killed in the process. And he needed help. Since he couldn`t call sheriff Forbes for obvious reasons that left only one option.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. Thanks for all the faves and follows. Glad to know so many people are reading my story. But a few comments would be really awesome. Pretty please? Constructive criticism is also welcome.**

**And now on to the next chapter...**

###

After picking up Elena, something he soon regretted when she continued yapping at him the whole time, Damon drove to the school. He spied Alaric in the hallway and quickly stepped into his way. The teacher looked at him warily. "Well, don't you look... alive?" Damon murmured, letting his eyes rake over the teacher`s body in appreciation. Ric fidgeted under his stare, but didn`t back down. "You can't hurt me." he claimed. The vampire was about to retort, when Elena showed up and interrupted them, stating that they needed Alaric`s help. The teacher hesitated, but finally motioned for them to follow him.

He led the two of them into his classroom and sat down, looking at Elena expectantly and pretending to ignore Damon. The vampire rolled his eyes, but left it to Elena to inform the teacher of what had happened. "Stefan's in the house. Damon's a vampire. He can't get in. We need you. I would go, but..."

"But I can`t get my brother out and protect Miss trouble-magnet at the same time. You on the other hand…" Damon interrupted her speech. "Stefan told me about your ring." Elena spoke up again, giving Damon a glare. Alaric stubbornly crossed his arms and shrugged. "What about it?" Great, he wasn`t really going to pretend he didn`t know what they were talking about, was he? Damon sighed in annoyance. "Let me recap...You tried to kill me. I defended myself. Those tomb vampires showed up. You died. Then according to my brother, your ring brought you back to life. Am I leaving anything out?" the vampire said sarcastically.

"Yeah. The part where I try to kill you again. Only this time, I don't miss." Alaric snarked back. This was really getting old. Damon was seriously contemplating telling the teacher the whole truth about their shared past. But he`d rather do it without Elena there. Speaking of Elena, of course she couldn`t keep her mouth shut. "Mr. Saltzman. Please. It's Stefan." she pleaded. Unfortunately Ric seemed immune to her puppy dog look, because he just hold her it wasn`t his problem. Damon had to give him credit for his stubbornness. But they didn`t have time for that right now.

"That`s a shame, cause you know, the guy who kidnapped my brother is also the guy who killed you. Thought you might want to get revenge." Alaric looked like was contemplating it and Damon knew he had won, even if the teacher told them it still wasn`t his problem. Damon shrugged and turned to leave. "Okay, then I`ll just have to endanger Elena`s life. Coward. Come on, Elena." He took a few steps towards the door, not surprised when Ric called out: "All right! Wait. I'll go." The vampire turned back to him, not even trying to hide the triumphant smirk.

Alaric glared at him for a moment, but then turned to pull a duffel bag out of his locker and started unpacking weapons. Damon was quite impressed about the arsenal of vampire hunting weapons. But he`d be damned if he let the teacher know that. "Teacher by day, vampire hunter by night." he commented with a grin. Ric glanced up at him. "I've you to thank for that." Damon`s grin didn`t falter. Ric would never use those weapons against him. He would make sure of that.

Alaric explained the different weapons to Elena – a blow dart gun, modified to shoot wooden stakes, tranquilizer darts filled with vervain, a specially designed crossbow. Damon watched with interest. The teacher was really prepared. But he wouldn`t take any chances. "Just get me in. I'll get Stefan out." he decided. Of course Elena wouldn`t listen and still insisted on coming with them. Ric left it to Damon to argue with her and the damn girl proved to be very persistent. "You need me. I'll get in. You could distract them, and then I'll get Stefan out." she reasoned.

Ignoring her, Damon to turned to Alaric. "Just get me in and then get out as quickly as you can. I know how to sneak around where they can't hear me. You'll basically just be in the way." The teacher frowned at him, obviously not happy with this plan, but he didn`t say anything. Elena on the other hand was still talking. "You can't stop me. It's Stefan we're talking about here. You don't understand." The vampire rolled his eyes and wondered how his brother put up with that on a daily basis.

"I can't protect you, Elena. I don't know how many vampires are in there. You`ll only get your head ripped off. I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety. Or this will end up in a bloodbath that none of us walks away from...Including Stefan. And I do get it. I understand." he finally snapped at her. Elena still didn´t back down, just continued to stare at him. And was she seriously pouting now?

"If we're gonna go, let's go." Alaric stepped in. Damon looked at him and nodded. Since Elena was still insisting on coming with them, he told her to drive the car, hoping this would keep her out of his way.

###

The storm was raging with full force when they reached the old farmhouse, complete with pouring rain and howling wind that ripped at the branches. They parked the car a short distance away, hidden in the woods. "Stay where you are." Damon ordered upon getting out. Elena simply glared at him, but he had no time worry about her right now. Moving quickly he and Alaric crept towards the house. Damon went around to the back door, while Ric went to the front and used a trick to get inside. Damon listened to him talking, glad when their plan seemed to be working out.

Only a few minutes later the back door opened to reveal Alaric and Miss Gibbons, the middle aged woman who owned the house. Behind them Damon could see a vampire with a stake protruding from his chest. Ric was good, the vampire had to admit. The teacher asked the woman to invite Damon in, but she refused. She`d been compelled never to let him in, Damon remembered. Rolling his eyes he ordered Ric to get her out of the house, a little surprised when the teacher actually complied without question.

"Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married? Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?" the dark haired vampire asked. She shook her head. "No. It's just me." That`s what Damon had been hoping for. He broke her neck without a second thought and stepped over the threshold. Alaric stared at him in shock. "You were supposed to compel her." he protested. "It doesn't work that way..." Damon shot back. "She is human." Ric snapped.

Damn, they had no time for the teacher`s attack of conscience right now. "And I'm not! So I don't care. She was as good as dead anyway, if it`s any consolation to you. Now, get out of here. And get rid of the body!" he ordered, moving past Ric without waiting for a reply.

It didn`t take long for the next vampire to come looking for Ric. Damon´s attack took him by surprise and he died without fighting back. The dark haired vampire moved on and quickly found the stairs that led down to the cellar, where he figured they kept Stefan. Sure enough he found a man standing guard by a door at the end of the hallway. Damon rushed over and killed him quickly. Looking up he cursed under his breath when he spotted Elena. He should have known the stupid girl wouldn`t stay put. "Are you insane?" he hissed, but she ignored him. Admitting defeat Damon allowed her to follow him into the cell.

Stefan was hanging from the ceiling, the rope they had used burning into his wrists. Across from him some other vampire Damon vaguely recognized was tied to a chair. "Elena...You shouldn't be here..." the younger Salvatore gasped in shock. "She was supposed to stay in the car." Damon grumbled, moving to stake the other vampire, but Stefan stopped him, claiming the guy had tried to help him. The older Salvatore shrugged and was about to free Stefan, when his brother warned him that there was vervain on the ropes. "Elena, pull that." Damon ordered. She complied quickly and Stefan was freed within minutes. Of course his stupid saint of a brother and his equally stupid girlfriend insisted on freeing the other vampire, before finally leaving the cell.

By that time another vampire had shown up. Damon killed him, but he was pretty sure the rest of them must be getting suspicious by now. He turned to Elena and told her to get Stefan to the car, knowing they would only hold him up. "What about you?" Elena protested and Damon felt ready to strangle her. He`d never take her on a rescue mission again, that was for sure. "You rescue, I'll distract. Go." he ordered harshly, moving before she could protest again. Within seconds he was upstairs. And not a second too soon, because the tomb vampires had just started searching the house.

Damon moved through the rooms quickly, killing another two vampires with relative ease. He saw Frederick entering the room and attacked him, but was quickly pulled off by two more. Frederick sped off and Damon was left fighting the other two. He was running out of weapons and he was outnumbered. His strength was waning. One of the vampires pushed him down, but crumbled to the ground himself with a stake in his chest seconds later. Damon looked up in surprise and spied Alaric standing in the hallway, crossbow in hand. The sight made his heart beat a little faster. He´d come back for him. Okay, probably more for Elena. But it was a start.

He nodded his thanks and went after Frederick, but the other vampire had disappeared. Returning to the hallway Damon found Ric taking down another vampire. "Frederick's gone." The teacher nodded grimly. He was bleeding from a shallow wound on his neck, but seemed otherwise unharmed. "Let's get out of here." They moved to the door, but stopped on the porch when they saw more vampires approaching the house. Fuck, how many of them were there? "How many of those vervain darts do you have left?" Damon asked. Ric looked at him with a frown. "One." Just great. "Not gonna be enough." the dark haired vampire commented, motioning for the teacher to follow him back into the house. They were in serious trouble.

They locked the door, knowing it wouldn`t do much good, but trying anyway. It didn`t take the vampires long to reach the house. Already they were banging on the door, trying to bring it down. Not long and it would give way. Damon took on a fighting stance, noticed Ric next to him doing the same and had to smile despite their fucked up situation.

The door gave way with a splintering sound, but suddenly a female voice outside shouted: "Stop. What's going on here?" Pearl entered the room, glared at Damon. "What did you do?" The dark haired vampire glared right back. "Me? Your merry little band of vampires spent the day torturing my brother." She had the decency to look shocked and promised to 'deal with the parties responsible for this', as she put it. Damon snorted. Yeah, right. "This wasn't supposed to happen." Pearl assured him. "Well, it did. If I had a good side...Not a way to get on it." he spat, turning to leave.

Alaric followed him quietly. They found Stefan and Elena by the car. Next to it Frederick was pinned to a tree, messily staked with a branch. Damon looked at his brother with raised eyebrows. "Care to explain?" Stefan still seemed weak, though not as weak as before. Elena`s bleeding wrist and the fact that his brother wouldn`t look him in the eye told Damon the rest of the story. "Let`s just go home." Elena pleaded. Damon exchanged a quick glance with Alaric, who seemed to have put two and two together as well and nodded.

###

After making sure that Elena and Stefan were both safely home, Damon decided he really needed a drink. Upon entering the Mystic Grill he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Alaric had the same idea. Grinning he joined the teacher at the bar. "That was fun." Alaric gave him a disgusted look and Damon rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't look at me like that. You can't deny it. We were bad ass."

Ric shook his head and got up. He frowned down on the vampire, seemed to be debating with himself for a second. Then he punched Damon in the face – hard – and left. The vampire touched his chin, noting Ric`s considerable strength. Not exactly like he`d pictured this meeting to go down. He looked at the teacher`s retreating figure and decided it was time for some truth.

###

Alaric walked towards his car, feeling pretty pleased with himself for punching Damon. Who the hell did the vampire think he was? Just because Ric had helped him didn`t mean they were suddenly friends. And he still couldn`t believe he had actually helped the obnoxious vampire, had saved his ass and fought side by side with him. What the hell had he been thinking? He should have left Damon alone to fend for himself. Or maybe used the chance to kill him. But instead he had saved him. Without thinking twice about it.

He just couldn`t deny that the vampire had gotten under his skin. His thoughts revolved around Damon constantly. He tried to tell himself that he was only trying to figure out the best way to kill him. Because even if Damon hadn`t killed his wife, he had still turned her. Taken her away from Ric. But the more he thought about it, the more his anger deflated and he wondered what he was even doing here. Isobel had chosen to leave him. He had lost her long before that night, now that he thought about it.

She had become distant, had engrossed herself in work more and more. She hadn´t been home for days and when she finally returned she hadn´t offered an explanation. They had fought a lot in those last weeks. Ric had always put up with her weirdness, her strange obsession for vampires and other supernatural things, but it had finally gotten too much. Now that he knew what had happened to her, her weird behaviour was starting to make sense. When she had given him that ring, made him promise to always wear it… It had been a way of saying goodbye, he realized.

The teacher stopped abruptly, startled out of his musings, when he rounded the corner and nearly collided with Damon. He had thought the vampire would still be sitting at the bar, but obviously Damon had used his supernatural speed to intercept him before he could reach his car. Alaric looked at him warily, noting with growing unease that they were completely alone in the dark alley. Why hadn`t he parked closer to the Grill? And more importantly, why hadn`t he packed any weapons? If Damon attacked him now he would be defenceless.

The vampire however seemed strangely calm. He took a step towards Alaric, who in turn took a step back. Damon smiled at this and took another step forward, still without saying a word. They continued this game until Ric suddenly found himself with his back to a wall. No more chance of escape. "We were good today, Ric. And you had fun. Admit it." Damon murmured. The teacher frowned. "I don´t know what you consider fun, but my idea of fun is certainly different." he shot back, wondering what kind of game the vampire was playing now.

"You can deny it all you want. I know you enjoyed it. The exhilaration of the fight, the rush of killing those vampires…" Damon droned on. Once again he was watching Ric with this spooky intense look, like he could see right through him. The teacher was glad for the vervain-bracelet he had taken to wearing. The vampire´s closeness was distracting enough, but he`d be damned if he let Damon know that. "Don`t act like you know me." the teacher spat, trying to put as much venom into the words as possible.

Damon´s smile grew wider. "But I do know you, Ric. And you knew me. Once." he murmured. The man looked at him in confusion. What was that supposed to mean. "I`ve got no idea what you`re talking about." he admitted. "I`m talking about the fact that we`ve known each other. Long before you came to Mystic Falls. Before I turned Isobel." Damon explained. Ric snorted. "I think I`d remember that." The vampire blinked, shook his head. "You would. Only, you can`t. See, the things is … I compelled you. Made you forget." he admitted.

Ric couldn`t believe what he was hearing. It simply couldn`t be true. The vampire was only toying with him. He was lying. He had to be. Still the teacher felt at a loss for words. Damon used his momentary inaction to take another step forward, now fully invading his personal space. Alaric`s heart was racing, the breath caught in his throat. Damon seemed unaware. "When you came up to me at the party, started chatting me up… For a second there I thought you remembered." he went on.

He raised his hand, let one finger trace down Alaric`s chest. His voice dropped even further, was barely above a whisper now. "But maybe you do. On some level." Ric pressed himself to the wall behind him, his hands balled to fists at his sides. His treacherous body was betraying him, responding to the vampire`s closeness, his feather light touch in an embarrassing way. The urge to kiss Damon was warring with the urge to punch him again.

Finally shaking himself out of his trance, Ric brought both hands up and pushed Damon away. The vampire actually stumbled backwards, either caught by surprise or to humour the teacher, Ric couldn`t tell. He knew that he usually would be no match for Damon´s strength. "Stop messing with my head. You`re lying!" he accused, angry at himself that the vampire could get to him like that. "But I`m not. I`m completely honest here." Damon claimed. "I could prove it to you. Take the compulsion off." he offered.

"No way. You`re not actually expecting me to be that stupid? I`m not allowing you to play with my mind." the teacher stated, now pretty sure that Damon was really just trying to mess with him. The vampire stepped closer again. "You know, I was debating with myself, whether I should tell you or not, wondering if it would be a good idea to make you remember. I hadn`t really expected to ever see you again. But now I want you to remember." he whispered. Ric tried to push him off, but this time Damon wouldn`t budge and the teacher found himself pinned to the wall instead. Damon´s body was pressed against his, his face mere inches from Alaric`s. It was so tempting, but the teacher was determined not to give in.

"I`m telling the truth, Ric." Damon stated again. "Want me to prove it? How about that scar on your left knee? You fell off the swing and injured yourself on a broken bottle while your mother wasn`t paying attention. How old were you again, four?" The teacher blinked in surprise. "How…?" Damon grinned and took a step back. "Told you. I know a lot about you. If you`re ready to get your memories back, you know where to find me." he turned and walked away, left the teacher staring after him open mouthed. It simply couldn`t be true. Isobel must`ve told him. Yes, that was the only logic explanation.

But then he realized with a start that he`d never told Isobel how and when he`d gotten that scar. She hadn`t known. Closing his eyes in defeat Ric slumped back against the wall. What the hell?


	7. Chapter 7

**Many thanks to Brittiny and sailor silvimoon for the lovely reviews. Good to hear that my story is appreciated. **

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"Okay guys, I want you all to write me a paper on the current subject. You`ve got one week. And Wikipedia copies will be marked with an F. Without exception." Alaric stated, shooting Tyler a pointed look. He didn´t care if the guy was the Mayor`s son and star of the football team. The same rules applied for him as for anyone else. The students groaned and grumbled about the homework, while they packed their things and slowly filed out of the room. Ric watched them go, noting absent-mindedly that Stefan and Elena lingered.

A little over a week had gone by since Stefan`s capture and rescue and today was the first day he was back at school. Ric had been watching him discreetly, but he seemed to have recovered pretty well. He was a little edgy maybe, but the teacher wasn`t really sure if that was anything new. He hadn`t had all that much dealings with Stefan until very recently and the vampire skipped class more often than not.

The teacher sat down on the edge of his desk and watched the two approach. Stefan seemed uncomfortable, kept his eyes downcast. "I just wanted to say thank you. For helping Damon and Elena to save me." he mumbled. Ric shrugged. "I`m not sure if I was all that much of a help." Finally the vampire met his eyes. Up this close Ric noticed that he had definitely looked better. "From what Elena told me, they couldn`t have done it without you. And I know you had no reason to help me. After everything Damon has done. So thank you. And if I can do anything to repay you…"

The mention of the older Salvatore made Ric stiffen. He hadn`t seen Damon since their encounter behind the Grill, but he had thought a lot about his words. He still wasn`t a hundred percent sure if he believed what Damon had said. If it weren`t for that tiny fact at the end he would write it off as Damon trying to mess with his head. But there was no way the vampire could know about his scar. It was driving Ric mad. This uncertainty and the many questions. Had he really known Damon? And how well? He just couldn`t go on not knowing. But he didn`t trust Damon. So if Stefan offered a favour, maybe he should take him up on the offer?

Clearing his throat he looked at the vampire. "Well… maybe there is something I could use your help with." Stefan blinked, obviously surprised that the teacher really wanted to cash in the offered favour. "Sure. What is it?" Ric hesitated, wondered if it was such a good idea to bring Stefan into this. But he trusted the vampire. At least more than Damon. And he really wanted to know the truth. So he took a deep breath and declared: "I need you to compel me."

Stefan actually stumbled a step backwards at his unexpected request. "You want me to…? Why?" he asked. Elena looked just as shocked as her boyfriend. "There`s something Damon said to me. I just… I just need to know if it´s true." The uncertainty was killing him. "What did he say?" Elena wanted to know. "He claims that I`ve known him. Before he turned Isobel. He said he compelled me to forget." Ric told them. The younger Salvatore gave him an almost pitying look. "You shouldn`t believe anything Damon says. He`s toying with you. That´s his thing. Mind games, lies.. he`s good at that."

Elena nodded enigmatically. "Stefan is right. You should just ignore Damon. He tried that stuff with me, too. Just forget what he said." The teacher sighed. Just forget it. Good advice. He would love to, but he simply couldn`t. "I normally wouldn´t believe him, trust me. At first I was convinced that he was just messing with my head. But he knows things about me… About a scar and how I got it. He can`t know that." Ric muttered. He had spent the whole week wondering how Damon could have found out. The answer was simple. He couldn`t. Not if Ric hadn`t told the vampire himself. No-one but his parents knew about that little accident from his childhood days. And he seriously doubted the vampire had visited his parents.

Elena and Stefan looked thoughtful. "Maybe Isobel told him?" the girl suggested. Ric shook his head. "She didn`t know. No-one but my parents knows this story." He was sure of it. "Damon offered to take the compulsion off, but I don´t trust him. I`m afraid he might plant false memories into my head if he gets the chance. You wouldn`t do that. So I need you to compel me and undo whatever Damon has done." the teacher explained. "If there´s really something he made me forget, I just need to know." Elena smiled in sympathy and told him she could understand, but Stefan looked troubled.

"I can`t help you, Alaric. I`m sorry." The teacher wanted to scream in frustration. What the hell was Stefan`s problem? He was allowing him to use compulsion, so he didn`t need to feel bad for doing it. And he would only undo the damage his brother had done. Ric opened his mouth to protest, but Stefan cut him off. "It`s not that I don`t want to. I simply can`t. I`m not strong enough to override Damon´s compulsion. It´s the animal blood. I`m weaker than Damon. It wouldn`t work." He looked truly apologetic. Ric cursed under his breath. That was something he hadn´t thought about.

"I have an idea." Elena suddenly spoke up. "Why don`t you ask Damon to take the compulsion off while we`re there as well? That way Stefan and I could make sure that he doesn`t give you any false memories." Alaric looked at her in surprise, wondering why he hadn`t thought of this earlier. "That´s a good idea. You´d have to listen closely to what exactly he`s saying. But he couldn`t really mess with my mind with you two there." he agreed. Elena grinned at him, pleased about her plan. Stefan nodded his assent as well. "Come over to the boarding house later. Damon should be home and we`ll be there as well." he promised. Ric thanked him and agreed to show up.

####

About two hours after school was done for the day the teacher found himself standing in front of the boarding house. His heart was hammering and he felt nervous as hell. He couldn´t help but wonder what he would remember and if he really wanted those memories back. Taking a deep breath he finally knocked. No way to find out but to try. The door opened seconds later to reveal Stefan. "Come in. Damon`s in the library." Alaric followed the younger Salvatore inside, where Elena was already waiting as well. They entered the library and found Damon lounging on the couch, a glass of bourbon in one hand and a book in the other.

He set the book down and looked at the three of them with a frown. "Did I miss something?" Ric took a hesitant step forward. "You said you compelled me to forget something and to find you when I want those memories back. Well, I want them back now." A sly smile spread over Damon´s lips. "Do you now? Well, in that case I`m happy to oblige. Follow me." He drained his drink, got up and went to the door, but Ric didn`t budge. "Where?" he asked suspiciously. The dark haired vampire shrugged. "My room?"

"Why not here?" the teacher wanted to know. "Why not in my room?" Damon mimicked and Ric felt the urge to strangle him. "I don`t trust you." Damon`s lips twitched. "But you trusted me once." he claimed, sounding pretty sure of that. "Well, unfortunately I can`t remember. So I want Stefan and Elena to be there so they can make sure you don`t plant false memories into my head." The vampire looked like he wanted to argue. Surprisingly enough, he didn`t. He just stared at Ric for a second. Then he rolled his eyes and heaved a dramatic sigh. "Alright, if you insist. Let`s do it here."

He walked over to Ric, stopped directly in front of him and the teacher felt his nervousness spike. Damon´s closeness did ridiculous things to his body that made him wonder if his subconscious remembered something he didn`t. "I suppose you`ve still got vervain on you?" the vampire guessed. Alaric hesitated a second. Then he took off the bracelet and handed it to Elena. Damon moved even closer. It took all of Ric`s willpower to stay still and meet that blue eyed stare. His heart was pounding and his knees felt weak.

He watched fascinated how the vampire`s eyes darkened. Damon´s voice sounded hypnotic and oh so close. "I want you to remember everything I made you forget." It took only a few seconds. Then Damon lowered his eyes and took a step back. Ric shook his head, blinked, a little disoriented. Gasped when all of a sudden his mind was flooded with images. Damon and him in the kitchen of his and Isobel`s apartment, lounging together on the couch, sitting in a car, walking through a park, drinking at a bar. The two of them laughing, drinking, talking... So many memories. So much he`d forgotten. They had been friends. And so much more.

Damon was watching him with an unreadable expression. Ric stumbled backwards, right into Stefan, who reached a hand out to steady him. Elena was at his side in an instant, looking at him worriedly. "Ric? Are you okay?" He couldn`t deal with her right now. Couldn`t deal with anyone right now. So many memories.

"Yeah, I just… I`ve.. got to go." he mumbled and practically fled out of the house. Elena called after him that he`d forgotten his vervain bracelet, but he didn`t care. He needed to get away. Jumping into his car he sped off. Not really knowing what he was doing or where he was going he just drove on. Out of Mystic Falls, further along the street, until he reached the ruins of a deserted old farmhouse. There he parked his car and sat just staring into space. Remembering.

###

FLASHBACK:

_Alaric parked his car in front of the apartment building and frowned at the blue camaro in the driveway. For a second he wondered if Isobel had a visitor and debated just leaving again. But no, she wouldn`t. Not at their home._ _She knew the rules._ _And it was already late. Work had taken forever today. He got out of the car and went to the door. The sound of hushed voices greeted him when he entered the apartment, made him stop in his tracks for a moment. Warily he went on, followed the voices to the kitchen, where he found his wife sitting at the table with a guy he didn`t know. Isobel smiled at him. "Hey, Ric." He bent down to kiss her, noting slightly hurt how she turned away from him. Trying to act nonchalant Ric looked at their visitor._

_Blue eyes met his. The guy stood up and held out his hand. "Damon Salvatore, I`m a student of Isobel." He seemed nice enough, but Ric was pretty sure what student actually meant here. Damon was hot. You`d have to be blind not to notice that. Tall, lean frame, paired with dark hair, sensuous lips and eyes to drown in. Isobel sure knew how to pick them. Ric forced a smile to his face and shook Damon´s hand. "Alaric Saltzman. Pleased to meet you." Damon nodded. "Yeah, you`re Isobel`s husband. She told me about you." This surprised Ric, but he tried not to let it show. _

_Isobel motioned for him to take a seat. She didn`t exactly look pleased at him being there. Ric sat down and turned to Damon. "So, you`re studying to be a parapsychologist like my wife?" he asked, trying to make small talk. The dark haired man nodded. "Yeah. Though I`m mostly interested in witches, actually." Damon told him. Ric was about to comment, when the ringing of Isobel`s cell phone interrupted them. She looked at it, then quickly got up and excused herself. Alaric suspected that they wouldn`t see her for some time. Lately she spent hours on the phone and even more time at her computer. It was getting beyond frustrating._

_Left alone with the stranger, Ric`s eyes were drawn to Damon once more_ _and he felt at a loss for words. The silence was stretching, starting to get uncomfortable. Ric sighed. This was ridiculous. "Are you sleeping with my wife?" Damon´s eyes widened in surprise. Then he chuckled. "No, I`m not. Although she did offer." Ric nodded. "Yeah, I figured. We`ve…. got an open relationship." And why was he even telling Damon this? It wasn`t like he wanted the guy to sleep with his wife. _

_The open relationship had been her idea. At first he had refused, had been appalled and also_ _more than a bit_ _hurt by the idea. Wasn`t she happy with him? Was he not enough? What could she get from a stranger that he couldn`t give her? But Isobel hadn`t stopped_ _talking about it._ _They had fought more than once._ _In the end he had agreed just to make her happy. They never talked about it now, but he was sure she must be taking advantage of it. Truth be told, he didn`t want to know._

"_She told me. But I wasn`t interested." Damon let him know. Must have been a blow for Isobel`s ego, getting turned down. Something she wasn`t used to. She usually got what she wanted. Which was probably the reason Damon was here tonight. She was trying to make him change his mind. Ric`s appearance must have ruined her plans._ _Well, too bad for her._

"_So.. Isobel tells me you`re into history?" Damon asked, steering the conversation towards a less awkward subject. Ric nodded, glad for the change of topic. His marriage problems really weren`t Damon´s fault. "Anything specific?" the dark haired man wanted to know. "I`ve been specializing on the American Civil War lately." Damon looked interested. "Really? Why this topic?"_

"_I don´t really know. It just fascinates me. The thought of Americans fighting each other because of different opinions and ideals... Pretty stupid, when you think about it._ _Did you know that to this day there are discussions about what exactly caused the war? It´s all very complex and controversial." Alaric shrugged sheepishly. Ask him about his work and he could start a monologue. He could bore someone to death with it. Damon however didn`t look bored at all. "I know you what you mean. I grew up with all this Civil War stuff. Small southern town, very fond of its history." he let Ric know. _

"_Where exactly did you grow up? If you don`t mind me asking." Ric asked. "Mystic Falls, Virginia." Ric frowned. "Never heard of that before, sorry." he admitted and Damon laughed. "Like I said, small southern town. You`d probably like it. The people there are really into history. They celebrate events, with costumes and stuff." That did sound interesting. "Maybe I`ll have to visit your town someday." he mused. Damon smiled. He seemed like a friendly guy and all of a sudden Ric didn`t really mind Isobel bringing him home. "Hey, have you seen that exhibition over in Raleigh?" Damon asked suddenly._

"_No, not yet. I wanted to, but I didn`t have the time." It was an exhibition focused on the Civil War era, so of course he wanted to see it. But work had kept him pretty busy lately. "I was planning on going to see it on Saturday. Maybe we could go together?" Damon offered. Ric nodded with a smile. "Yeah, I`d like that." Isobel was completely engrossed in her research at the moment_ _anyways. She wouldn`t miss him and it would be much more fun with someone who was interested in the topic as well. "Cool. I`ll pick you up around… nine?" the dark haired man asked. "Okay. Great."_

###

Alaric smiled at the memory. The exhibition had turned out to be completely boring, so they`d ended up at a bar instead, bonding over a few drinks. There they had sat for hours and talked about anything that came to mind, from their mutual appreciation for bourbon, to family, work and interests. It had been a great day. Back then he`d felt an instant connection with Damon. He had been easy to talk to and Ric had enjoyed his quick wit and dry humour.

The teacher noticed that it was already getting dark. He must`ve been sitting here for quite a while. A glance at his cell phone told him that Elena had been trying to reach him. He had given her his number last week, shortly after their rescue mission. Had told her to call him if she needed help again. After all, she was kind of his step-daughter, wasn`t she? Now he debated calling her back, but couldn`t bring himself to do it. He just needed some more time to himself. Shaking his head he started the car and drove back to his apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

Upon entering the empty, dark loft Alaric was suddenly struck by another memory…

FLASHBACK

_Tired after a long day of work Ric entered the apartment building. He wondered absently if Isobel would be back tonight. She had disappeared two days ago, without telling him where she was going or when she`d come back. He`d come home to find a note, stating that she had to go check something out. He hadn`t heard from her since. And the really sad thing about it all was that he didn´t really care. This had become almost normal lately and he had long since given up on scolding her about it or trying to reach her on her cell phone, demanding to know where she was. Not for the first time he wondered if their marriage was spiralling to an end._

_He entered the apartment and blinked in surprise when he was met by warmth and the smell of Italian food. Isobel`s cooking skills were worse than his. Curious he went on, but stopped dead in his tracks once he reached the kitchen. "Damon?" The dark haired man looked over his shoulder with a grin. "Hey, Ric. Perfect timing. Dinner will be ready in five minutes." Ric watched him bustling around the kitchen, stirring something in a pot, adding some spice to another. He looked weirdly domestic and not at all out of place. "You broke into my apartment to cook for me?" Just when he thought the guy couldn`t surprise him anymore._

"_I didn`t actually break in. I found the key. You really should find a better hiding place than under the doormat. Way too easy to figure out, my friend." Damon chastised, walking over and handing Ric a glass of wine. "And as for the cooking… Well, I didn´t see Isobel today, so I figured she was still off somewhere and you`d be all alone at home. And since I had some free time I thought I`d stop by and feed you." Their hands brushed together when Ric accepted the glass and he shuddered. His breath hitched slightly. It often did when he came this close to his friend. Damon´s eyes were mesmerizing, making it hard to look away. "What would I do without you?" Ric joked, trying to lighten the mood._

_Damon smiled and returned to the stove, calling over his shoulder. "You`d be ordering pizza right now." Ric laughed, because that was exactly what he`d planned to do. His friend knew him too well. "Guilty." he chuckled, taking a sip of his wine, savouring the flavour. "Hmm, that`s good stuff. You spoil me." Damon glanced at him, a smile playing about his lips. "Someone has to."_

_###_

Alaric slumped down on the couch. The memories were overwhelming him. Remembering their shared past he couldn`t believe that he had spent the last two years hating Damon and plotting his death. He was suddenly glad that he hadn`t succeeded in killing the vampire. And he knew he would never try again. He felt torn. Considering their history he couldn`t help but like the dark haired vampire. They had spent so much time together, shared so much. But he was also angry at him for taking away his memories. He felt betrayed. Even more so now that he remembered how close they had been. He wanted to yell at him, to punch him again. Had their friendship really meant so little to Damon? Had it only been an act?

Ric`s head was spinning and he felt extremely tired. A glance at his watch told him that it was close to midnight. Tomorrow was a school day. He`d have to face his students, face Elena and Stefan, who were probably worried about him. Who would want an explanation for his hasty departure. He wasn`t looking forward to explaining anything. Wasn`t sure how much he wanted them to know. If he wanted them to know anything at all.

Sighing he got up and went to bed, but he couldn`t sleep. He lay awake, tossing and turning, caught in the memories of long evenings spent at bars or in front of the TV, of walks through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at university, joking around and making fun of the lovesick couples. Of meeting up for a quick coffee in the afternoon that ended with them talking for at least an hour more often than not. Of making dinner together or getting hammered when Isobel wasn`t home, playing stupid drinking games until Ric couldn`t see straight. Of Damon spending the night on their couch and waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, bacon and eggs and finding the vampire bustling around the kitchen.

And as the night wore on he also remembered how their friendship had taken a change...

FLASHBACK

_Ric entered the apartment, frowning at how dark it was. He turned on the light and went to the kitchen, not really surprised by the note he found there. Hey Ric, something came up. Had to go check it out. See you soon. Isobel He crumbled the note and threw it into the trash. It was always the same. He wondered how long she would be gone this time. Last time it had been four days and she hadn´t once felt the need to call. She never did. He had stopped worrying long ago. _

_After debating with himself for a moment he grabbed the phone and dialled a familiar number. He wouldn`t sit around alone and mope. "Hey Ric, what`s up?" It was strange how just hearing Damon´s voice made him smile. "Isobel took off again and I really don´t feel like sitting home alone. I thought we could go out for a drink." He could hear laughter through the phone. "Sounds like a good idea. Especially considering that I already am at a bar. A nice little pub named O`Shea´s to be exact. Wanna meet me there?" Ric grinned. "Absolutely. Just tell me where you are and I`ll join you." Damon gave him the address and about 20 minutes later they were sitting at the bar, each sipping a glass of their favourite bourbon._

_Both were quiet for a while, but the silence wasn`t awkward. Sometimes they enjoyed just spending time together and not many words were needed. Still, something about tonight felt different. Ric was all too aware of Damon´s closeness as they sat side by side. He could smell his aftershave, the distinct scent of his shampoo_ _and when one of them moved they would almost brush against each other. For some reason it made him jittery. _

"_Nice pub. How did you find it?" he asked after a while. Damon shrugged. "Stumbled upon it, quite literally. My apartment is just around the corner." Yes, Ric remembered now. He`d only been to Damon´s apartment once. They usually spent their time either at Ric and Isobel`s home or they went out. "Right. I almost forgot. Been some time since I visited you." he mumbled. The dark haired man glanced over at him and there was something in his eyes that made Ric`s heartbeat quicken. _

"_You could visit me now." he offered. Ric swallowed hard, wondered if the words really held a double meaning or if he was imagining things. "Sounds like a plan." he replied. They drained their drinks and put some money on the counter. Alaric felt strangely nervous while he followed Damon through the deserted streets. The walk took only about ten minutes._

_Mere seconds after he had entered the apartment, Ric found himself pressed back against the door, Damon`s lips claiming his in a hungry kiss that literally took his breath away. Ric responded enthusiastically, kissing back with equal fervour. He gasped when Damon´s slightly cool hands found their way underneath his shirt, stroked over his sides, leaving goosebumps behind. Finally they had to break apart, when the need for air got too great. Ric was startled at the hunger he could see in Damon´s eyes, although it was probably mirrored in his own. How long had he wanted this? He wasn`t sure, but he supposed since the first time he laid eyes on the dark haired man._

_Damon was tugging at his jacket and Ric quickly shrugged out of it, before lifting his arms so Damon could pull his shirt off as well. The dark haired man shed his own leather jacket without taking his eyes off Alaric. Ric reached out to rid him of his clingy t-shirt. Their lips met again and then Damon was pulling him further into the apartment. They stumbled through the darkness without breaking the kiss, knocking into furniture twice, before finally reaching the bedroom. Ric kicked off his shoes, noticed that Damon had somehow lost his along the way and reached for the other man´s belt._

_The tight fitting jeans proved a bit of a challenge. Somehow the two men ended up toppling onto the bed while trying to get each other naked. Damon laughed breathlessly and moved to take the rest of his clothes_ _off himself, before ridding Ric of his pants and boxers. Finally naked they reached for each other, rolling until Damon was underneath Ric. _

_Ric´s lips trailed across Damon´s throat, up to his ear. "Want you. So much." he whispered, letting his tongue curl around the lobe. Damon shuddered beneath him, nodded shakily. It was all the encouragement Ric needed. He let his hands trace over the slender body, watching fascinated how Damon arched into his touch. "God, you`re beautiful." It should sound strange, calling a guy beautiful, but it was the only word fit to describe Damon. The dark haired man smiled and tugged Ric down for another kiss. "Been wanting you.. wanting this for month." he admitted and Ric´s heart raced even more at the quiet words._

"_Gonna need…" he muttered. Damon nodded and pointed to a cupboard. "Top drawer." Ric quickly went to fetch the necessary items, blushing slightly when he found Damon staring at him. "You`re damn hot, Ric." the dark haired man murmured. Ric had never felt so wanted. He leaned down for another kiss, while his hand found its way between Damon`s legs. Damon gasped and moaned as Ric`s fingers slowly opened him up. He was a sight to behold, his dark hair mussed, kiss-swollen lips slightly parted and his blue eyes darkened, pupils blown wide. Ric stared at him, tried to burn the image into his memory._

_He took his time, not wanting to hurt Damon, but soon the dark haired man urged him on. He gasped once he was finally buried between those slender thighs, the tight heat nearly undoing him. Ric moved slowly at first, but quickly picked up the pace as Damon grew accustomed to him, as they found a rhythm, clinging to each other. _

_Neither lasted long. They had waited too long for this, had been wanting this for too long. Ric came hard, gasping Damon´s name, while Damon pressed his face into Ric`s shoulder, his cry muffled by the skin. They collapsed next to each other on the bed, legs tangled and waited for their breathing to return to normal. Ric looked at the beautiful man lying next to him and murmured "Wow." Damon chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Why did we wait so long to do this?" Ric shrugged. "No idea." _

_##_

Alaric rolled onto his back with a sigh, stared up at the ceiling, now not only sleepless but also turned on. That had been the first time they slept with each other, but certainly not the last. Once they had taken that step there had been no turning back. Not that either of them had wanted to turn back. They had enjoyed this new twist to their friendship way too much. Ric had soon stopped counting the nights he´d spent in Damon`s bed. Always Damon´s, never his. It was one of the few rules of his and Isobel`s relationship. Never at home.

He was pretty sure Isobel had known about him and Damon, although she never said anything. Frankly, back then he didn`t care. The open relationship had been her idea and he`d never taken advantage of it before. Had never felt the desire to do so. Not until Damon came along. Meeting Damon had changed a lot. And their friendship had changed, too, over time. While Isobel had drifted away from him, he and Damon had steadily gotten closer...

FLASHBACK

_Ric glanced at the window, noting that it was long dark outside, but not ready to get up and leave yet. He and Damon were lounging on the dark haired man´s bed, both of them naked. After Isobel had told him she`d be visiting her parents over the weekend, Ric had decided to spend the time with Damon, who had been more than happy about the idea. Now it was sunday night and he knew he really should leave. _

_Damon was idly tracing patterns across his skin. He stopped at Ric´s knee and looked at the scar there. "How did you get that?" he asked suddenly. Ric shifted, shrugged. "That was a long time ago. The story isn`t really good." Of course his words only served to catch Damon´s interest. "Tell me." he asked, giving Ric his best puppy dog look. With a fond chuckle the blond man complied. "I was four, I think. My mom went to the playground with me, but she wasn`t really paying attention. And while she was busy chatting with our neighbour, I fell off the swing and cut my knee on a broken bottle. Bled like crazy." he remembered._

_Damon bent down to place a kiss on the scar and Ric shuddered lightly. "You know, I think I never told anyone." he realized. "Not even Isobel?" Alaric frowned at the mention of his wife. He didn`t want to think of her right now. "No. Only my parents know. And now you." Damon grinned and moved up to kiss him. "I like that. Knowing something about you no-one else knows." he admitted. Ric smiled and stroked his back. He loved the feeling of that soft skin underneath his fingertips. _

"_I should leave. Gotta work tomorrow." he mumbled with a sigh. Damon cuddled closer to him. "Or you could just stay another night." he offered. "Isobel won`t miss you. I would." Ric bit his lip. His heart beat a little faster at those words. He wondered if Damon could hear it, since his head was resting on Ric`s chest. Not for the first time the word divorce flashed through his mind._

_His feelings for Isobel had changed. Had started changing even before he met Damon. Lately he had started to realize that his heart belonged to someone else now. But he wasn`t sure yet, if he´d be brave enough to do something about it. He was postponing the inevitable. Deep down he knew that. He still loved Isobel, but not as much as he had when they`d gotten married. And he seriously doubted that she still loved him. She was barely ever home anyway. "Stay." Damon whispered against his skin, his lips moving over Ric`s torso teasingly. _

_Ric ended up staying the night and called in sick the next day._


	9. Chapter 9

** dizzy lizzie: thanks for the lovely review. So glad you liked the last chapter.**

** guest: thank you for the review and your opinion. It`s great to hear that you like my story. I always have a hard time leaving stuff out, because I think it`s important for the story. But I`ll try to tune it down. So thank you for the suggestion.**

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The next morning came way too early for Alaric`s liking. He had barely slept all night and seriously contemplated just calling in sick. In the end he decided against it, knowing it would only serve to worry Elena further and maybe even make her come looking for him.

He also hoped the monotony of a normal school day would take his mind off the newly rediscovered memories. He packed his things and opened the door, already late, but stopped dead in his tracks a second later. Damon was standing in front of his door, hand still poised to knock. For a moment both men just stared at each other.

"You gonna invite me in?" Damon asked finally. Ric stared at him in disbelief. "No." Who did the vampire think he was, showing up here like nothing had happened. "Now get out of my way. I`m late for work." the teacher grumbled and tried to move past him. Damon however didn`t budge. Simply crossed his arms and regarded the other man coolly. "Just forget about work, Ric. I`m here to talk." Alaric sighed in annoyance. He so wasn`t in the mood for these games right now. "But I don`t want to talk." he growled, stepping closer to the vampire, his voice dropping, taking on a menacing edge. "I`ve got a couple of vervain darts in my pocket. I suggest you move before I feel the need to use them on you."

Damon´s eyes widened in surprise. For a second he seemed ready to argue, but the teacher`s glare told him that Ric was deadly serious. Scowling he stepped aside to let Ric pass. The teacher breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to his car. Pushing the speed limits a little, he made it to class just in time.

Usually he liked teaching. He always felt a little proud of himself, when one of his student gave a truly good answer or inquired further about the current subject. But today he found it tedious. He just couldn`t concentrate, his mind was still reeling with all the memories. So much for a diversion. Of course Elena noticed that he was distracted today. He could feel her worried gaze on himself, noticed her sneaking glances at Stefan ever so often, who was looking worse than yesterday. Maybe the girl should worry a little more about her boyfriend, than about her teacher, Ric mused.

He wasn`t really surprised when the two of them lingered after class again. Elena approached him hesitantly, while Stefan hung back. "You forgot this." the girl murmured, handing him his vervain bracelet. Ric took his time putting it on. "Thanks." He was stalling and he suspected Elena knew it. "Are you… okay?" she dared to ask after a while. Alaric nodded and finally met her eyes. "Yeah, I`m okay. Sorry if I worried you. I just… needed some time to myself. It was a lot to take in." he admitted. Understatement of the year.

"So… Damon was telling the truth? You did know him?" Elena prodded. Ric sighed, looked away. Stared off into the distance. "We were friends." He was startled when Stefan snorted at this. He`d almost forgotten about the younger Salvatore. "My brother doesn`t have any friends." Ric had never heard Stefan`s voice sound so cold and detached. It was a little frightening. He frowned at the vampire, noticed that Elena was giving him a weird look as well. "And yet I used to call him my friend."

Another snort and he could see something like pity in Stefan`s eyes. "He was using you. And he probably plans to do it again. Otherwise he wouldn`t have made you remember. Better be careful, Alaric. My brother is dangerous." Stefan warned, exiting the room without a backward glance. Ric looked at Elena, who shrugged in response. "I guess he`s right. Damon is … he`s selfish. He´s good at making you believe he will change for the better. I believed that, too. I felt sorry for him. But the tragic truth is, he has no redeeming qualities. You should be careful." she cautioned. Not exactly what Ric wanted to hear.

He didn`t know what to believe anymore. The memories of his and Damon´s shared past warred with the hatred he had felt for the vampire, with the things he knew about him now. He wondered which Damon was the real one – his friend, who had been there when he needed him, had laughed with him, listened to his problems and offered advice, or the cold, unscrupulous vampire, who stopped at nothing to get what he wanted and didn`t care who got hurt in the process.

The teacher forced a smile to his face, not wanting to worry Elena further and promised to be careful. The rest of the day passed rather uneventful. He was mildly surprised when Damon showed up once school was over, strolling into Ric´s classroom just as the last of the students left. Ric quickly packed up his things. "Sorry, if you`re here to talk about Stefan I have to disappoint you. That`s what parent-teacher conferences are for. You`ll have to make an appointment like everybody else." he explained without looking at the vampire. "I`m not here to talk about Stefan and you know it." Damon grumbled.

Ric took out his cell phone, grabbed his bag and pushed past the vampire. "Doesn`t change the fact that I`m busy." He quickly dialled Jenna`s number, glad when she picked up after the second ring. "Hey Jenna, I guess I still owe you a date. How about tonight?" He continued walking, ignoring the pounding of his heart, surprised that Damon didn`t follow him. But he could feel the vampire`s eyes on himself the whole time and knew that they would have to talk about it eventually. There was no way around it. He just wanted to postpone it a little longer.

###

The date with Jenna was fun and it thankfully took Ric`s mind off of his problems for a while. Now that they had cleared things between them and agreed to be just friends he felt a lot more comfortable around her. They had dinner at the Grill and talked about anything that came to mind, getting so engrossed in the conversation that they missed the movie they had agreed on. Jenna shrugged it off and suggested just staying at the Grill for drinks instead.

"So… how are things with Damon?" she asked after a while and Ric stiffened. "Can we please not talk about Damon tonight?" Jenna smiled sympathetically. "That bad, huh? Okay, change of topic. Have you talked to Elena, yet?"

"About Isobel? No, I haven`t. I don`t really know what to say, to be honest." he admitted. "Just tell her what she was like. I`m sure Elena will ask questions if she wants to know more." Yes, he feared she might do that. And what was he supposed to say? Isobel hadn`t exactly been the picture perfect wife. She had been obsessed with her work, especially towards the end. She had left him to become a vampire and he had yet to find out more about that. Remembering his time with Damon had also made him remember those last month before Isobel disappeared. He`d thought about getting a divorce back then. Should he tell Elena that?

"It´s up to you. Like I said, no pressure." Jenna murmured. "I just… have a lot on my mind at the moment." Ric admitted. "Wanna talk about it?" The offer was tempting. He could really use someone to talk to, but Jenna didn`t know about vampires and all that other stuff. And he wanted to keep it that way. "Thanks, but I think that`s something I have to figure out for myself." he said with a shrug. "Okay, but if you want to talk, the offer stands." The teacher smiled at that. "Thank you. I really appreciate it." And he did. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "We should probably call it a night. I`ve got to work tomorrow and I haven´t exactly gotten much sleep last night. Wouldn`t want to fall asleep in class." Jenna agreed with a laugh and they left.

Walking towards his car, Ric mused that it had been a really nice evening and was just about to thank Jenna again, when he caught a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. A second later something smashed into his side and he was thrown hard against the car. He heard Jenna scream in shock and looked up just in time to see a shadow lunging at him. Unable to escape the attack he tried to fight back. But his attacker was strong. He hissed, knocked the teacher back against the car and sank his fangs into Ric`s neck. The teacher yelled in pain, only now realizing that the guy was a vampire. He fumbled around in his jacket pocket until he got hold of a vervain dart. Jamming it into the vampire`s chest he finally managed to throw him off.

Shakily he got to his feet, found Jenna standing nearby, a horrified look on her face. "Oh my god, Ric! What…?" Her sentence was interrupted by a growl. Before Alaric could react another vampire lunged at him. Once again he was thrown against the side of the car, the air knocked out of his lungs with the force of the impact. For a second his vision blurred.

The vampire let go of him and seemed ready to lunge himself at Jenna, but before he could reach her, a dark figure appeared out of nowhere and pinned him to the nearest wall with a stake. The teacher breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Damon. They shared a quick look and he nodded his thanks, while he shakily got to his feet. Damon frowned at Jenna, who was trembling and looking about ready to faint. "Get her out of here. I`ve got this."

"Okay. Be careful with that one. The vervain might wear off soon." Ric warned, before gently guiding Jenna to the car and helping her into the passenger seat. He risked another glance at Damon, before driving off.

Jenna was silent, obviously trying to process what had happened. "Are you okay?" Ric asked after a while. That seemed to snap her out of her trance and she shook her head wildly. "No. No, I`m not okay! What the hell just happened? Did… did Damon just kill…? And what was that?!" she asked, her voice rising, taking o a shrill edge.

Ric sighed. It had been stupid to try and keep her out of this. She deserved to know the truth. "That was a vampire. Well, two vampires. And yes, Damon killed him." he answered, surprising himself with how calm he sounded. Jenna looked at him like he`d lost his mind. "Vampires? Are you serious?" she asked. But then her eyes drifted to the wound on his neck. It was throbbing and Ric could feel a trickle of blood that had leaked down his chest. But he had been lucky. The wound wasn`t deep. His jacket had been in the way, preventing the vampire from doing real damage. "I promise, I`ll explain everything. If you want me to." the teacher offered.

They reached the Gilbert home and he parked in the driveway, half-turning to look at Jenna. She hesitated for a second, but then she nodded. "Come inside. We`ll get you patched up and then you can start explaining." He followed her into the bathroom, where she cleaned and inspected the wound. It really wasn`t deep and had already stopped bleeding, so Jenna covered it with a bandage. Once that was taken care of they moved to the kitchen. Jenna made coffee, before sitting down to talk.

Over the next two hours Alaric told her everything. Starting with Isobel`s research and her death, to him trying to find the vampire who killed her, moving to Mystic Falls and learning about the vampires there. He talked about Damon, his failed attempt to kill the vampire, their shared past he only now remembered. About the tomb-vampires and their history concerning this town, about the founder´s council and Jonathan Gilbert`s journal. When he finally fell silent Jenna just sat there for long moments, staring off into space.

"How much does Elena know?" she asked after a while. "Pretty much everything. Except the details of mine and Damon´s friendship." Yes, he had told Jenna about that too and it had even coaxed a knowing smile out of her. "And Jeremy?" Ric shrugged. "I`m not sure. You remember the paper I asked him to write? His topic was: _fact or fiction - The truth about vampires in Mystic Falls_. He made it very clear that he didn't think it was real, but… I just don´t know." He had wanted to mention it to Elena, but with all that had been happening lately he just forgot.

"Wow, that means you all knew and kept me in the dark." Jenna mumbled. "We did it to protect you. All this… supernatural stuff is just crazy. Once you let that into your life it rules you. Believe me, I know what I`m talking about." Sometimes Ric felt he would be better off not knowing anything. "I don`t need protection, Ric. I`m old enough to look after myself." she scoffed. "I`m sorry, Jenna. I should have told you sooner, but…. You were so untouched from all this chaos. I wanted to keep it that way." the teacher murmured. "Elena slipped you vervain, by the way. So you don´t have to be afraid of getting compelled."

She frowned at him. "That´s why she got me that tea? And… wait a second, she told me never to invite Logan Fell into the house. Does that mean he´s a….?" Ric grimaced at the mention of her ex. Obviously he had to make yet another confession. "Yeah, he was a vampire. I think Damon killed him, as far as I know, but someone had slipped him vampire blood, so he turned." At least that was what Elena had told him. "You don`t need to worry about him anymore though. I… I staked him." he admitted quietly, unsure how she would take those news.

"Wow. I guess I should thank you then." she said with a wry smile. Ric chuckled, glad she was handling it all so well. Both of them looked to the door when they heard approaching footsteps. Elena appeared in the doorway and blinked at them. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" she asked, smiling slightly. "Not really. We were just talking about vampires." Jenna answered calmly. Ric found it almost comical to watch how Elena`s eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed several times, with no sound coming out. "Were you planning on telling me anytime soon?" Jenna asked. Ric took that as his cue to leave. It was way past midnight already and he really needed to get some sleep.

Returning to his apartment he stripped down to his underwear and collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He dreamt of blue eyes and hands all over his body and woke up feeling tired and sore.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to pinkskyline for the lovely review.**

**##################**

The next day was Friday and Ric had seldom been so happy about the impending weekend. He had no idea how he made it through the school day. He taught his lessons mechanically, noting vaguely that Elena looked tired as well and spent half the time checking her cell phone. Stefan was skipping class once again. Elena didn`t know where he was.

At least that was what she told Ric after class. "How´s Jenna?" the teacher asked. Elena shrugged. "Mad at me for lying to her. But other than that she´s handling it pretty well. We talked after you left and I told her everything I know. She made me promise never to keep something like that from her ever again." the brunette let him know, before leaving to go in search of her wayward vampire boyfriend.

After school Ric debated just going to bed again, but instead ended up at the Grill. He wasn`t all that surprised when Damon slipped onto the barstool next to his. "Took care of our friends from last night." he let the teacher know. "Everything okay with Jenna or do you need me to compel her?" Alaric risked a glance at him and shook his head. "She`s handling it pretty well. Stay away from her." Damon raised his eyebrows at the command, but remained strangely silent.

For a while they sat drinking in companiable silence. "So, did you snap out of your pissy mood? Can we talk now?" the vampire asked after a while. Ric regarded him with a frown. "Pissy mood? You made me forget all about our friendship. You can`t actually be surprised that I`m mad at you." he hissed. Damon just shrugged. "You got your memories back."

Alaric really wanted to punch him again. He noticed Matt Donovan watching them with a frown and fought to keep his temper in check. It wouldn`t do to get thrown out of the Grill. This was the only bar in town and poor Matt was one of his students. "Can we continue this somewhere else?" Damon seemed more than happy about this idea. "Your apartment?" he suggested, scowling when Ric said no. "I`m not going to invite you into my apartment." the teacher stated. "Fine, my place then. You drive."

The drive to the boarding house passed in uncomfortable silence. Once there Ric followed Damon inside, looking around in wonder. He`d only been here twice before and hadn`t really taken the time to appreciate the view. The house was quite impressive. "Stefan`s not home." the vampire commented, pouring both of them a drink. "Why did you do it?" Alaric asked without preamble. He saw Damon stiffen and avert his eyes. Sensitive subject?

"Isobel told me she had found a witch who could open the tomb. Even without the crystal and the comet and all that stuff." the vampire began, before asking. "You know about all that, right?" Ric nodded. "Elena told me about your undying love for Katherine and your crazy plan to free her from the tomb. She also told me that Katherine had never been inside and that you did all this for nothing." That had been shortly after they rescued Stefan and Elena had been taking cruel delight in Damon´s pain. She blamed him for the whole thing.

"Yeah, so I spent 145 years pining after her, only to find out that she`s always been a heartless bitch and never really loved me. Sucks, you know?" the vampire mumbled. He sounded desolate and Ric couldn`t help but feel a little compassion for him. They weren´t all that different. He´d spent the last two years trying to avenge Isobel´s death, only to find out that she wasn`t even dead, but had left him to become a vampire. Maybe it ran in the family, he mused. Isobel was a descendant of Katherine after all. "I can imagine." Damon sighed and went on with his story.

"So she told me about this witch and made me promise that I would turn her. When we met she had no idea that I was a vampire. I don`t know how she found out. But once she had, she kept begging me turn her. She also knew about Katherine and she used this knowledge as leverage. In the end, I agreed. So now I had a chance of freeing Katherine and I thought it would be best if you didn`t remember me at all. I was sure you wouldn`t miss Isobel. I thought you would mourn for a month or two and then go on with your life."

"Well, you thought wrong." Ric grumbled. "How the hell was I supposed to know that you would suddenly start obsessing over your wife? You wanted to get divorced back then. I thought I was doing you a favour. And you weren`t supposed to see me drain her. You should have been working late that day. I didn`t even know that you saw me. I just heard something and ran off." Damon shot back. Ric`s anger was growing. "But I did see you. And since I didn`t remember you, all I saw was a vampire killing my wife!" he shouted, getting even angrier at Damon´s dismissive attitude.

"Do you even feel sorry for messing with my head, taking away my memories? Or are you completely incapable of remorse?" he asked. "I thought it would be better this way." Damon insisted. Alaric shook his head. "Better? Maybe better for you. Did it ever occur to you, that you being there would have made it easier? That I would have forgotten about her soon enough if you had stayed with me?" the teacher asked, hating how weak his voice sounded. He would have left Isobel for Damon eventually and he suspected the vampire knew it.

He didn`t give Damon a chance to reply however. "But of course you had better things to do. You had to chase after the love of your life. I was only a diversion, right? A warm body to keep you occupied until you could be reunited with your precious Katherine." he spat.

Damon actually flinched at the accusation, but Ric wasn`t finished. He had worked himself into a rage. "Tell me, was any of it real? Anything you said or did?" he wanted to know, noting the pained look on the vampire´s face with mild surprise. Damon had always been easy and impossible to read. One minute he was an open book, his expressive eyes giving away every emotion and the next minute his face was a blank mask, devoid of any feeling whatsoever. It had always frustrated Ric to no end.

"All of it was real." the vampire whispered, slowly moving closer. "You almost made me forget about Katherine, you know that? And leaving you… that was one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make. But you`ve got to understand... I`ve been obsessed with Katherine for over 100 years. I couldn`t just... let her go. I made a mistake. I know that now." he admitted. Ric`s heart was pounding. He wanted to believe it. Wanted it so much. But he didn`t know if he could. "What do you want from me, Damon?" He was so tired of all these games.

Damon took another step closer, invaded his personal space. "I want to continue where we left off. And I know that you want it too." His voice had taken on a seductive tone. It was so tempting. Ric wanted to lean in, capture those perfect lips again, run his hands over the smooth skin hidden beneath the black shirt.

But Damon´s betrayal still hurt too much. Reluctantly he took a step back. "I can`t." He turned and fled out of the house without looking back.

###

Alaric spent the better part of Saturday afternoon on Jenna`s couch, pouring his heart out and asking her advice. She listened patiently, but told him it was his decision to make and insisted she really was the wrong person to ask for relationship advice. A while later Elena joined them, smiling when Jenna invited Ric to stay for dinner. She obviously thought the teacher was dating her aunt and he really had no idea how to convince her that this wasn`t the case.

After dinner Elena finally asked the question he`d been dreading all the time. "Can you tell me something about Isobel?" He hesitated, not sure where to start. "Please I just… I just want to know what she was like." She looked at him pleadingly. So Ric told her how he and Isobel met. How he had fallen head over heels for her. He told her about Isobel`s strong personality and how she had fascinated him.

But he also spoke of the hard times. Of her obsession with her research and the fact that it wasn`t always easy. The open relationship he left out. Elena really didn`t need to know everything. "So... do I take after her, or...?" Ric shook his head. "You`re nothing like Isobel." Elena`s face fell and he quickly assured her that it was a good thing.

"I loved her, don´t get me wrong, but Isobel was… difficult. She was selfish. Obsessed with her work. Especially towards the end. She spent a lot of time on her computer and sometimes she would just disappear for days. Damon said she blackmailed him with knowledge about Katherine, so he would turn her. And I think he`s telling the truth." the girl looked stunned at this and Ric was all too aware of Jenna standing in the doorway, listening as well.

"You´re kind-hearted and sweet, Elena. You care about others and you always put others needs first. There´s nothing about Isobel you need to know. Believe me." She didn`t seem pleased with this, since he hadn`t really answered any of her questions, but she accepted it. Ric breathed a sigh of relief, glad to have this talk over with and left soon after.

###

Damon on the other hand spent the better part of Saturday sitting in the boarding house library, drinking. Only Alaric would be able to do this to him, he mused. Had it been anyone else, Damon would have just killed him and moved on. Instead he was stuck here, moping. This thing was far from over.

Damon was known to fixate. His freshly cured, 145 year long obsession with Katherine was prove of that. So Katherine had turned out to be a completely heartless, evil bitch who never really loved him. Shit happens. Instead of mourning what he had lost, he had decided to move on. He was over her. He was free. Finally.

Ric had made him forget about Katherine once. At least for a while. He could do it again. Damon still wanted his happy end. And he was sure he could get it with Ric. Now he only had to convince the teacher of that. And he was determined to do just that. Ric would give in and they would continue where they had left off two years ago and he would forget all about Katherine and just be happy. Yes, Damon Salvatore was known to fixate and right now he was fixating on Alaric.


	11. Chapter 11

**Many thanks to dizzy lizzie for the lovely review. So glad you still like my story.**

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Sunday brought yet another founder´s event. The founder's day 150th anniversary kick-off party, to be exact. Damon forced Stefan to accompany him, quickly regretting it when his martyr brother kept grating on his nerves with his grumpy attitude. Every time Damon asked, Stefan insisted that he was fine. Yeah, like he really was going to believe that. It hadn`t escaped his notice, that Stefan had been drinking whiskey all day. Never a good sign.

But the younger one shrugged it off and went in search of Elena. Fine by him, although Damon couldn`t resist calling after him. "Don't embarrass me young man!"

Stefan ignored him, but he hadn`t really expected otherwise. Looking around he spied Sheriff Forbes and joined her, complimenting the blonde on her dress. She laughed and they made small talk. After a while Liz admitted that she trusted the vampire, although she`d had doubts about him at first. Damon smiled. Strangely enough he was really starting to like the sheriff. And it was good to know that she finally trusted him.

"You're not gonna like what I have to tell you, though." she muttered after a while. "John Gilbert sought me out earlier. He had some very distressing news." Damon looked at her questioningly. "John Gilbert?" That name didn`t ring a bell. Liz sighed. "Elena's uncle. His name is John but I call him Jackass." she rolled her eyes and the vampire smiled. It vanished quickly however, when she told him that according to John a hospital blood bank in Amherst had reported several break ins over the past two weeks. "And there were quite a few people reported missing as well. All close to Mystic Falls. We might have a problem."

Just great. Damon would need to have a word with Pearl and her tomb vamps. Could they be any more obvious? "That`s bad news. I`ll keep my eyes open." he promised. Liz nodded and left to find her daughter, while Damon strolled onto the balcony and considered just blowing up the old farmhouse with all the tomb vampires inside. Might spare them all some trouble.

Shortly after, he was joined by none other than John Gilbert. "Damon, right? We didn't get the chance to meet, yet." the man murmured and Damon instantly decided he didn`t like the guy. Still he pasted a friendly smile to his face and made Smalltalk. "Sheriff Forbes told me you`re a part of the council, too. So what do you think Damon? You know this vampire problem is real, right? It's a potential blood bath." John warned after a while. Damon shrugged it off, telling him not overreact, but the Gilbert idiot went on about how it was 1864 all over again. The vampire was surprised at how much he knew.

John kept babbling about the fire in the church and the hidden tomb underneath and Damon realized he was in serious trouble, even before John disclosed that he knew all about the tomb vampires and that Damon had been the one who freed them. Well, technically it had been those stupid witches, but the vampire didn`t really feel like pointing that out. "You know that I could rip your throat out before anyone would notice?" he mentioned casually, like he was talking about the weather. John simply nodded. The bastard looked way to smug. "Yeah, okay. But you probably ingest vervain so…"

"Why don't you take a bite to find out?" The guy had some nerve, baiting a vampire. He would soon regret that. "It's not worth my time." Damon declared, the smile never leaving his face. He started to leave, but then rushed back, broke John´s neck and threw him off the balcony. Problem solved. He really had enough on his hands right now. He couldn`t be bothered with an annoying Gilbert, who knew too much.

The vampire went back inside, spotted his brother, drinking yet again (what a surprise) and went over to tell him about Uncle John Gilbert. That shook Stefan out of his trance. Suddenly he looked like he wanted to launch into a monologue about how you shouldn`t kill people. Even drunk his little brother was such a bore. So obviously the wrong address, if he wanted help. "Great party by the way, huh?" Damon remarked, clapped him on the back and left again.

He wandered through the crowd for a while, debating with himself if he should go in search of Alaric, when he looked towards the entrance and got a shock. None other than John Gilbert was just strolling through the door, looking relaxed and way too alive for Damon´s liking. "You got to be kidding me." the dark haired vampire muttered under his breath. Why did nothing work out like he wanted it to, lately? It was getting beyond frustrating.

The stupid, annoyingly un-killable Gilbert proceeded to walk onstage and hold a speech. Damon hadn`t been paying attention, so he didn`t know the reason. Frankly, he didn`t care. Moving through the crowd quickly he joined Alaric. "Look at his right hand." Ric frowned at him, startled by the strange greeting. "Who's?" he asked, puzzlement in his tone. Damon barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Towns favourite's son. Look at his ring." he ordered again. Alaric did as he was told and his eyes widened in surprise. "It looks like mine."

"Yeah, and that would be a big coincidence if he didn't just come back from the dead about 5 minutes ago. Where the hell did you get that ring?" the vampire wanted to know. Alaric looked troubled. "Isobel gave it to me. Made me promise to always wear it." he mumbled. Things started clicking into place. "Isobel, who gave birth to Elena, under the medical care of Dr Grayson Gilbert, John's brother!" Both men turned to look at John, who was still enjoying his moment in the spotlight. "John knew Isobel." the teacher concluded. "John knows a lot of things." Damon corrected.

Ric frowned at him. "What does he know?" he asked hesitantly. "Pretty much everything, I think. He knows about me, about the tomb vampires…" he broke off with a shrug. John knew way too much, that was for sure. Ric`s eyes shone with worry. "That`s not good." Damon snorted. "Understatement of the year, Ric." He saw John leaving the stage and frowned. "We need to find out just how much he knows exactly." he muttered, starting to follow the Gilbert. The vampire was pleasantly surprised when Alaric tagged along.

They caught John just outside the door. He met them with a smile. "You're going to kill me again or are you gonna let Mr. Saltzman do your dirty work this time?" The guy really had some nerve. "Okay, you obviously know who I am." Ric answered, hiding his surprise quite well. "Alaric Saltzman, a high school history teacher with a secret. Or maybe more than one secret." John muttered, casting a sly sideways glance at Damon. The vampire faltered slightly, but caught himself quickly and made a comment about knowing a lot for someone who just got to town.

John told the two men that a letter containing all his knowledge would go to the council, should they kill him. He had the audacity to threaten to out Damon to the council. For once the vampire felt speechless. Alaric used his distraction to ask John about the ring. "I had inherited one, my brother Gray had the other. The one I`m wearing was his and I wouldn't have given mine to Isobel if I had known she'd hand it over to another guy." Okay, that explained a lot. The rings were obviously some family heirloom. Damon was pretty sure that he had Emily to thank for those.

"So you did know Isobel." They had figured that much already. John shrugged. "Who do you think told her you were a vampire? Or about your infatuation with Katherine?" he asked and Damon really wanted to wipe that grin off his face. "What do you want?" the vampire asked, his voice dangerously low. He would not allow this stupid little human to play games with him. John didn`t feel inclined to answer however and instead took his leave. Since there were still too many people around, Damon had to let him go. For now.

He turned to look at Alaric, noting sarcastically. "That went well." The teacher rolled his eyes. "No kidding, Damon." For a moment they just stood there, staring at each other. "He knows too much. We need to figure out a way to get rid of him." the vampire spoke up again. "We? He´s your problem, Damon. Who says I`m helping you?" Ric asked. Damon huffed. He`d really thought they were over this. "He knew Isobel. He obviously knows a lot about both of us. He threatened me, for fuck´s sake!" the vampire growled. Ric just shrugged. "Not really my problem. If you`ll excuse me now…" he muttered, turning around and leaving without a backward glance.

Damon could only stare after him, wondering where the hell this sudden change of heart had come from. Just a few minutes ago Alaric had followed him without question, had stood by his side and helped him confront that stupid Gilbert guy. And now he was suddenly playing pissed off again? He just didn`t get that guy. And he was getting angry now himself. No one just dismissed Damon Salvatore like that.

Resisting the urge to follow Ric and tell him just that, Damon stormed out and drove home, where he proceeded to drown his sorrows in bourbon once more. When Stefan finally made it home a couple of hours later, the older one wanted to try and enlist his help against John. But he only needed to take one look at his brother to see that he couldn`t count on him either. Stefan was bad off. This time the craving seemed to be too much for him. Great. Yet another problem Damon had to take care of. And no-one to help him. This was just getting better and better.

Patting his brother on the shoulder and muttering some nonsense about things getting better, he went to bed, but he couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning for hours his thoughts drifted to Alaric once more. He thought of the first night they had actually spent together. He couldn`t even remember why they had waited month to finally topple into bed together. He had wanted Ric from the very second he`d met him. And he knew that Ric had felt the same way, had caught the teacher`s gaze on himself often enough, heard his erratic heartbeat, whenever they came close.

But maybe waiting had made it even sweeter. Even more intense. And he couldn`t deny that he had enjoyed the man`s friendship. Craved it, even. Damon had always been pretty solitary. Had seldom made friends. Why befriend someone, who would die sooner or later anyway? And he just found it hard to trust someone. But he had trusted Ric right from the start. There was just something about the man that had caught Damon´s interest from the very second they met. And they had just gotten closer over time. With a wistful smile he remembered the morning after their first night together…

_Damon woke slowly, feeling relaxed like he hadn`t in ages. With a content smile he stretched languidly, rolled over … and blinked his eyes open in surprise. The bed next to him was empty. Not what he`d been expecting. Frowning he sat up. Where the hell was Ric?_ _He hadn`t really snuck out during the night?_

_Then the smell of fresh coffee reached his nostrils and he heard the man puttering around in the kitchen. Shaking his head with a smile he got out of bed, put his boxershorts back on and padded to the kitchen._

_Alaric was just rummaging around in one of his cupboards and obviously hadn`t heard the vampire. He too was dressed only in boxers. "Morning." Damon drawled, making the man jump in surprise. Ric turned to him with a sheepish smile. "Morning. Thought I`d surprise you with breakfast this time around, but you`re too much of an early-riser. I only got the coffee ready so far." Damon chuckled. "That`s okay. We can just make breakfast together." He quickly went to the fridge, glad that Ric obviously didn`t have time to look in there, yet. He would need to find a better hiding place for the blood-bags he kept at his apartment, if Ric was going to stay overnight more often now._ _And he would definitely be staying overnight more often now, if Damon had any say in it._

_They made strawberry pancakes, working in perfect concert with each other. Like always. Damon was flipping the pancakes, while Ric set the table. The vampire was pleasantly surprised when suddenly strong arms wrapped around him from behind and Alaric started placing kisses all over his neck. "If you keep that up breakfast will have to wait." he warned lightly. Ric`s rough chuckle made him shiver. "Guess I`ll have to behave myself then. Although that`s damn hard."_

_Damon pushed the pan away, turned in Ric`s arms and pulled him into a heated kiss. Ric`s hands slid over his body teasingly, touching all the right places, making goosebumps rise on his skin. The vampire pulled away, breathing heavily. He was just about to suggest skipping breakfast when Ric`s stomach growled lightly. "Guess I really have to behave myself." the man muttered sheepishly. Damon chuckled. "Okay, breakfast first, then back to bed. How does that sound?" he suggested. "Sounds like a perfect morning to me." Ric replied, giving him a look that made the breath catch in his throat. Yeah, definitely a perfect morning._

Damon smiled wistfully. There had been no awkwardness about the change in their friendship. No uncomfortable discussions. It had all felt so natural. Like it was meant to be that way. They hadn`t even talked about what was going on between them. Had just accepted that this was the way things were now and enjoyed it.

He wanted that back. That feeling of… completeness he`d always had with Ric. The feeling that everything would just fall into place. He`d been an idiot, when he had let the teacher go to chase after Katherine. He knew that now. He couldn`t really understand anymore, why he`d done it in the first place, truth be told.

Maybe the hope of finding Katherine and finally being with her forever had been so much part of who he was back then, that he`d never really questioned his motives. Before he`d met Alaric, there had never been anyone he had wanted to keep for a while. He had never allowed himself to get close to anyone. But Ric had shattered all the walls, Damon had built around himself for decades. Maybe that fact had scared him more, than he`d wanted to admit.

For all of his long, undead life Damon had been driven by one thought alone: Freeing Katherine from the tomb, to live happily ever after. Until he met Alaric. Somehow the man had just taken him by surprise. Had wormed himself into his heart, without Damon even realizing it. Back then they had reached a point where it was getting increasingly hard to keep up the façade. To keep track of all the secrets and lies. He wouldn`t have been able to hide his true nature from Ric for much longer.

And how would Ric have reacted to the news, that the guy he was sharing his bed with was a vampire? One of those creatures from Isobel`s research, to which he referred as fairytales and made fun of. Maybe he would`ve accepted it. But maybe not. Maybe he would`ve hated Damon. Despised him, for the lies and all the evil things he`d done.

Damon hadn`t wanted to find out. It had been easier to leave and make Alaric forget. But he had missed Ric. Hadn`t even realized how much he`d missed him, until the teacher showed up in Mystic Falls. Only when it was too late, did he realize, that this thing with Ric could`ve been something special. Something real.

But maybe it wasn`t really too late. Maybe they had the chance to start over. To make it better. Without all the lies and secrets. All he knew was that he wanted Alaric back. And he would get him back. No-one said no to Damon Salvatore. Especially not Alaric Saltzman.


End file.
